The statistical physics of “avalanching systems” is a modern and interdisciplinary research topic with applications ranging from plastic deformation and fracture of solids to earthquakes and brain dynamics. The central concept is the non-smooth response of physical systems to external drive, input, or forces but not only – the stochastic behavior at hand can be seen across the board from geophysics including earthquakes to biological systems including brain dynamics to economic behavior and so on. The study of intermittency is a topic that is much fertilized by the collision of theoretical and experimental physicists with colleagues working in other fields.
Avalanche 2024 is an independent, last link in a chain of workshops organized during the last 15 years in Europe, collecting each time leading persons in the field and spicing the speaker selection with local flavor. The previous one was held after a pandemic pause in Hungary (Debrecen 2022), and the one before that in France (Les Houches Ecole de Physique, 2019). This year the event will focus on a wide selection of topics, including (but not limited to):
- Avalanches in materials deformation: crystal and amorphous plasticity
- Avalanches in fracture
- Avalanches in magnetic and ferroelectric systems
- Earthquakes and related phenomena
- Neuronal avalanches
Contributions on recent experimental results as well as theoretical studies including modelling and mathematical tools for the analysis of avalanche processes are welcome.