Kurt Wiesenfeld
Professor

 

Ph.D. University of California at Berkeley, 1985
Phone: (404)894-2429
Room: Howey-W504

EMail: kurt.wiesenfeld [at] physics.gatech.edu

 

■ Research ■

My research interests lie in the field of nonlinear dynamics. More and more, I've turned my attention to so-called complex systems, which are nonlinear but also involve many degrees of freedom. We know that even simple-looking systems can behave in complicated ways when they obey nonlinear laws. But what can we say about nonlinear systems that involve large numbers of interacting parts?

Areas of  Current Interest

a) stochastic resonance, including its relevance in biological systems;
b) spontaneous synchronization in populations of coupled oscillators (especially superconducting circuits);
c) dynamical beam-steering in very high frequency antenna arrays;
d) avalanching behavior and self-organized criticality (renormalization group approach; magnetic avalanches and flux-creep).
 

■ Publications ■

1. “Spontaneous formation of inert oscillator pairs, ” D. Tsygankov and K. Wiesenfeld, Phys. Lett. A 325, 51-56 (2004).
2. “Averaged equations for distributed Josephson arrays, ” M. Bennett and K. Wiesenfeld, Physica D 192, 196-214 (2004).
3. “Magnetic avalanches: Josephson, Bean, and Bak, ” K. Wiesenfeld and J. Lindner, Physica A 340, 617-624 (2004).
4. “Stochastic resonance in hair cell mechanoelectrical transduction, ” M. Bennett, K. Wiesenfeld and F. Jaramillo, Fluct. Noise Lett. 4, L1-L10 (2004).
5. “The Flux Creep Automaton”, J. F. Lindner, S. B. Hughes, D. J. Miller, B. C. Thomas, and K. Wiesenfeld, Int. J. Bif. Chaos 14, 1155-1175 (2004).
6. “Dynamics of Fiber Laser Arrays, ” submitted to IEEE J. Quantum Electro. (April, 2004).”Synchronization law for a van der Pol array,” S. Peles and K. Wiesenfeld, Phys. Rev. E 68, 26200/1-8 (2003).
7. “Neural correlates of the complexity of rhythmic finger-tapping,” M. Dhamala, G. Pagnoni, K. Wiesenfeld, C. Zink, M. Martin and G. Berns, NeuroImage 20, 918-926 (2003).
8. “Stochastic Resonance: From Ice Ages to the Human Ear”, K. Wiesenfeld and F. Jaramillo, Proceedings of the IUTAM Symposium on Nonlinear Stochastic Dynamics, N. S. Namachchivaya and Y. K. Lin, editors (Kluwer, 2003).
9. “Lectures on Stochastic Resonance”, K. Wiesenfeld, A. Buchleitner, and T. Wellens, book chapter in Coherent Evolution in Noisy Environments, A. Buchleitner and K. Hornberger, Springer Lecture Notes in Physics 611, 107-138 (2002).
10. “Huygens’ Clocks”, M. Bennett, M. F. Schatz, H. Rockwood, and K. Wiesenfeld, Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A 458, 563-579 (2002).
11. “Generalized Stability Law for Josephson Series Arrays”, M. Dhamala and K. Wiesenfeld, Phys. Lett. A 292, 269-274 (2002).
12. “Generalized Stability Law for Josephson Series Arrays”, M. Dhamala and K. Wiesenfeld, Phys. Lett. A 292, 269-274 (2002).
13. “Measurements of Brain Activity Complexity for Varying Mental Loads”, M. Dhamala, G. Pagnoni, K. Wiesenfeld, and G. Berns, Phys. Rev. E 65, 041917/1-7 (2002).
14. “Spontaneous Synchronization in a Josephson Transmission Line”, D. Tsygankov and K. Wiesenfeld, Phys. Rev. E 66, 036215/1-9 (2002).
15. “Huygens’ Clocks”, M. Bennett, M. Schatz, H. Rockwood, and K. Wiesenfeld, Proc. Roy. Soc. London A 458, 563-579 (2002).
16. “Two-Dimensional Josephson Junction Arrays Coupled Through a High-Q Cavity”, G. Filatrella, N. F. Pedersen, and K. Wiesenfeld, IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. 11, 1184-1187 (2001).
17. “Resource Letter ScL-1: Scaling Laws”, K. Wiesenfeld, Am. J. Phys. 69, 938-942 (2001).
18. “Stochastic Dynamics in a 2 Dimensional Oscillator Near a Saddle-Node Bufurcation”, M. E. Inchiosa, V. In, A. R. Bulsara, K. Wiesenfeld, T. Heath, and M. H. Choi, Phys. Rev. E 63, p. 066114/1-10 (2001).
19. “The Pendulum Automaton”, J. F. Lindner and K. Wiesenfeld, Int. J. Bif. Chaos 11, 3171-3178 (2001).
20. “Wavelets of Excitablity in Sensor Neurons”, J. Hasty, J. J. Collins, K. Wiesenfeld, and P. Grigg, J. Neurophysiology 86, 2096-2101 (2001).
21. “Production, SOC, and Stock Prices: Further Evidence Against Random Walk”, A. Chandra, S. Agrawal, and K. Wiesenfeld, Adv. Finan. Planning and Forecasting 9, 1-29 (2000).
22. “High-Q Cavity Induced Synchronization in Oscillator Arrays”, G. Filatrella, K. Wiesenfeld, and N. F. Pedersen, Phys. Rev. E 61, 2513-2518 (2000).
23. “Manipulated Synchronization: Beam Steering in Phased Arrays”, T. Heath, K. Wiesenfeld, and R. A. York, Int. J. Bif. Chaos 10, 2619-27 (2000).
24. “Amplitude Dropout in Coupled Lasers”, A. I. Khibnik, Y. Braiman, V. Protopopescu, T. A. B. Kennedy, and K. Wiesenfeld, Phys. Rev. A 62, p. 063815/1-5 (2000).
25. “Theory of Controlling Stochastic Resonance”, M. Locher, M. E. Inchiosa, J. Neff, A. Bulsara, K. Wiesenfeld, L. Gammaitoni, P. Hanggi, and W. Ditto, Phys. Rev. E 62, 317-327 (2000).
26. “Oscillatory Dynamics of a Nonlinear Amplifier in the High-Gain Regime: Exploiting a Global Connection”, K. Wiesenfeld, A. R. Bulsara, and M. E. Inchiosa, Phys. Rev. B 62, R9232-35 (2000).
27. “Synchronization Transitions in Josephson Arrays: A Puzzle and its Resolution”, T. Heath and K. Wiesenfeld, Ann. Phys. (Leipzig) 9, 689-696 (2000).
28. “Nonlinear Dynamics in a High Gain Amplifier: the dc SQUID”, A. R. Bulsara, K. Wiesenfeld, and M. E. Inchiosa, Ann. Phys. (Leipzig) 9, 679-688 (2000).
29. “Physiological Noise Level Enhances Mechanoelectrical Transduction in Hair Cells”, F. Jaramillo and K. Wiesenfeld, Chaos, Solitons and Fractals 11, 1869-74 (2000).

Earlier Publications

Stochastic Resonance:

1. L. Gammaitoni, M. Locher, A. Bulsara, P. Hanggi, J. Neff, K. . Wiesenfeld and W. Ditto, "Controlling Stochastic Resonance", Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 4574-4577 (1999).
2. F. Jaramillo and K. Wiesenfeld, "Mechanoelectrical transduction assisted by Brownian motion: a role for noise in the auditory system", Nature Neuroscience 1, 384-388 (1998).
3. K. Wiesenfeld and F. Jaramillo, "Minireview of stochastic c resonance", Chaos 8, 539-548 (1998).
4. K. Wiesenfeld and F. Moss, "Stochastic resonance and the benefits of noise: from ice ages to crayfish and SQUIDs", Nature 373, 33-36 (1995).
5. F. Moss and K. Wiesenfeld, "The benefits of background noise", Scientific American 273, 66-69 (1995).

Spontaneous Synchronization:

1. K. Wiesenfeld, "Josephson junction arrays: puzzles and d prospects", IMA Math. App. 115, 303-310 (1999).
2. K. Wiesenfeld, "Coupled oscillators for fun and profit", NY Acad. Sci. 848, 134-141 (1998).
3. K. Wiesenfeld, P. Colet and S. Strogatz, "Frequency locking in n Josephson arrays: connection with the Kuramoto model", Phys. Rev. E 57, 1563-1569 (1998).
4. Y. Braiman, T.A.B. Kennedy, K. Wiesenfeld and A. Khibnik, , "Entrainment of solid state laser arrays", Phys. Rev. A 52, 1500-1506 (1995).

Avalanching Systems and Self-organized Criticality:

1. J. Hasty and K. Wiesenfeld, "Renormalization group for directed d sandpile models", Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 1722-1725 (1998).

■ Bio Info ■

1. B.S. 1979 (physics) Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2. M.A. 1982 (physics) University of California at Berkeley
3. Ph.D. 1985 (physics) University of California at Berkeley

Positions Held:

1. 1984-5 Lecturer & Research Scientist, University of California at Santa Cruz
2. 1985-7 Research Scientist, Solid State Theory Group, Brookhaven National Laboratory
3. 1987-92 Assistant professor, physics, Georgia Tech
4. 1992-97 Associate professor, physics, Georgia Tech
5. 1997-present Professor, physics, Georgia Tech
6. Professional Society Memberships:s:American Physical Society
7. Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics
8. Also: currently a member-at-large, Executive Committee, American Physical Society's Division of Biological Physics (elected 1999).