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SUMMARY:The mathematics of collective synchronization  (Rouse Ball Lecture
 ) -  Professor Steven Strogatz Cornell University
DTSTART:20090519T110000Z
DTEND:20090519T120000Z
UID:TALK18487@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Berestycki
DESCRIPTION:Every night along the tidal rivers of Malaysia\, thousands of 
 male fireflies congregate in the mangrove trees and flash on and off in si
 lent\, hypnotic unison. This display extends for miles along the river and
  occurs spontaneously\; it does not require any leader or cue from the env
 ironment. Similar feats of synchronization occur throughout the natural wo
 rld\, whenever large groups of self-sustained oscillators interact. This l
 ecture will provide an introduction to the Kuramoto model\, the simplest m
 athematical model of collective synchronization. Its analysis has fascinat
 ed theorists for the past 35 years\, and involves a beautiful interplay of
  ideas from nonlinear dynamics\, statistical physics\, and fluid mechanics
 . Classic results\, recent breakthroughs\, and open problems will be discu
 ssed\, and a video of synchronous fireflies will be shown. 
LOCATION:Room 3\, Mill Lane lecture rooms
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