The Statistical Physics of Fixation and Equilibration in Individual-Based Models

The Statistical Physics of Fixation and Equilibration in Individual-Based Models
Author: Peter Ashcroft
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 175
Release: 2016-07-29
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319412132

This thesis explores several interdisciplinary topics at the border of theoretical physics and biology, presenting results that demonstrate the power of methods from statistical physics when applied to neighbouring disciplines. From birth-death processes in switching environments to discussions on the meaning of quasi-potential landscapes in high-dimensional spaces, this thesis is a shining example of the efficacy of interdisciplinary research. The fields advanced in this work include game theory, the dynamics of cancer, and invasion of mutants in resident populations, as well as general contributions to the theory of stochastic processes. The background material provides an intuitive introduction to the theory and applications of stochastic population dynamics, and the use of techniques from statistical physics in their analysis. The thesis then builds on these foundations to address problems motivated by biological phenomena.

Fast Variables in Stochastic Population Dynamics

Fast Variables in Stochastic Population Dynamics
Author: George William Albert Constable
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 172
Release: 2015-07-25
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319212184

In this thesis two variants of the fast variable elimination method are developed. They are intuitive, simple to implement and give results which are in very good agreement with those found from numerical simulations. The relative simplicity of the techniques makes them ideal for applying to problems featuring demographic stochasticity, for experts and non-experts alike. Within the context of mathematical modelling, fast variable elimination is one of the central tools with which one can simplify a multivariate problem. When used in the context of of deterministic systems, the theory is quite standard, but when stochastic effects are present, it becomes less straightforward to apply. While the introductory and background chapters form an excellent primer to the theory of stochastic population dynamics, the techniques developed can be applied to systems exhibiting a separation of timescales in a variety of fields including population genetics, ecology and epidemiology.

Biological Evolution and Statistical Physics

Biological Evolution and Statistical Physics
Author: M. Lässig
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2008-01-11
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3540456929

This set of lecture notes gives a first coherent account of a novel aspect of the living world that can be called biological information. The book presents both a pedagogical and state-of-the art roadmap of this rapidly evolving area and covers the whole field, from information which is encoded in the molecular genetic code to the description of large-scale evolution of complex species networks. The book will prove useful for all those who work at the interface of biology, physics and information science.

Lectures On Statistical Physics And Protein Folding

Lectures On Statistical Physics And Protein Folding
Author: Kerson Huang
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 159
Release: 2005-05-30
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9814481068

This book introduces an approach to protein folding from the point of view of kinetic theory. There is an abundance of data on protein folding, but few proposals are available on the mechanism driving the process. Here, presented for the first time, are suggestions on possible research directions, as developed by the author in collaboration with C C Lin.The first half of this invaluable book contains a concise but relatively complete review of relevant topics in statistical mechanics and kinetic theory. It includes standard topics such as thermodynamics, the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution, and ensemble theory. Special discussions include the dynamics of phase transitions, and Brownian motion as an illustration of stochastic processes.The second half develops topics in molecular biology and protein structure, with a view to discovering mechanisms underlying protein folding. Attention is focused on the energy flow through the protein in its folded state. A mathematical model, based on the Brownian motion of coupled harmonic oscillators, is worked out in the appendix.

From Individualism to the Individual

From Individualism to the Individual
Author: George M. Frankfurter
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 510
Release: 2018-01-18
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1351744550

This title was first published in 2002: From Individualism to the Individual treats finance as a social and cultural process, exploring the unseen side of academic discourse and the many obstacles the deeply entrenched elite puts in the way of alternative thinking. Opening with a detailed discussion of the role of ideology in the perpetuation of the limited methodological bias of the profession toward markets, the book then examines the more specific effects of such ideological limitations on theoretical and empirical research in finance. The authors develop alternative ways to examine finance both as a profession and as a field of inquiry. This book will be of particular value to researchers and practitioners working in finance, as well as those in other social science disciplines whose research relates to finance, culture and society.

Individual-Based Models of Cultural Evolution

Individual-Based Models of Cultural Evolution
Author: Alberto Acerbi
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2022
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 9781003282068

"Individual-Based Models of Cultural Evolution shows readers how to create individual-based models of cultural evolution using the programming language R. The field of cultural evolution has emerged in the last few decades as a thriving, interdisciplinary effort to understand cultural change and cultural diversity within an evolutionary framework and using evolutionary tools, concepts and methods"--