Foundations of Synergetics I: Distributed Active Systems (Springer Series in Synergetics)

Foundations of Synergetics I: Distributed Active Systems (Springer Series in Synergetics). This textbook (the first of two volumes) by A. S. Mikhailov (as by Alexander S. Mikhailov) (Physics, U. of Moscow), A. Yu. Loskutov (Russian-Soviet physicist), and Hermann Haken (physicist and professor emeritus in theoretical physics at the University of Stuttgart) presents an introduction to the mathematical theory of co-operative behaviour in active systems of various origin, both natural and artificial. The volume is devoted to the properties of regular self-organized patterns in distributed active systems. An analysis of pattern formation and self-supported wave propagation in active media is followed by a description of properties of neural networks and their possible applications in the field of distributed analog information processing. The volume ends with a discussion of reproductive networks and evolutionary systems. Attention is focused on basic models which might appear in a wide range of applications. As illustrations, the author uses simplified examples borrowed from a variety of disciplines ranging from chemical and biological physics to market economies.