Clustering, self-organization, structure-formation
The research work of the MBN Science group at FIAS also addresses important fundamental problems of clustering, self-organization and structure-formation on the nanoscale in systems of various degree of complexity.
Clustering, self-organization and structure formation are general physical phenomena manifesting themselves on very different levels of matter organization or self-organization. A group of objects bound together by some interaction can be called a cluster. Such group of objects could be a group of nucleons in nuclear matter, that could be a group of atoms, molecules or nanosize droplets or nanoparticles stuck together on surface or this can be a group of galaxies in the Universe. Structure and properties of the cluster-type of objects are pre-determined by forces holding constituents together within a system and by the dynamical mechanisms responsible for their formation. In spite of differences in scale of cluster systems and in types of forces holding them together, they sometime allow very straightforward analogies. For example, the liquid drop model can be successfully utilized for the explanation of nuclear fission and for the understanding of stability of charged nanoclusters. Fractals can be created by depositing nanoparticles on surfaces and they are very common in biological systems. Clustering, self-organization, structure-formation phenomena appear in different area of research, e.g., astrophysics, atomic and molecular cluster physics, nanoscience, neuroscience, chemistry, biology and even technology (clustering in the wireless or computer networks). In spite of that huge diversity of fields: are there some fundamental laws governing the behaviour and the properties of clustering, self-organization, structure-formation on different scales? What are the principles of self-organization of matter, self-assembling and functioning on the nanoscale? Are these principles much different from those governing clustering of galaxies in the Universe?
The work of the MBN group is devoted to answer at least some of these intriguing interdisciplinary questions and to advance our understanding of the mechanisms of self-organization, growth, stability and fragmentation of complex molecular systems on the nanoscale, as well as the ways of their manipulation and control.
Another aspect of work of the MBN Science group is to establish parallels between the processes of growth and self-organization occurring in inanimate systems on the nanoscale with the analogous processes known from biology. A detail understanding of the self-assembly mechanisms on the nanoscale should spill light upon better understanding of complex system dynamics on larger scales.
Studies of MBN group in this field include: