Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems

Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems: Highlights

Publication highlight: www.pks.mpg.de/research/hig...

Inspired by the Mpemba effect, Nicolò Beato and Gianluca Teza @mpipks.bsky.social have introduced a way to accelerate or prolong relaxation in open quantum systems using "spectral filtering" via unitary transformations. Now #published @physrevlett.bsky.social:

doi.org/10.1103/4frd-ck2z

The Division of Biological Physics @mpipks.bsky.social seeks a Research Group Leader in #biophysics, #softmatter physics, or related areas. (Further particulars in the ad.)

Apply by the 3rd of April 2026 at pks.mpg.de/bprgl to join us in Dresden!

You have a background in math/physics/computer science/ML and are looking for an interdisciplinary postdoc fellowship in life sciences with free choice of host groups? Then join us at the CSBD as an ELBE postdoc! The application deadline is the 13 of March

Publication highlight: www.pks.mpg.de/research/hig...

How does an elastic line buckle within a curved surface? The answer, by @zhaoshh.bsky.social and @lepuslapis.bsky.social @mpipks.bsky.social @mpi-cbg.de @csbdresden.bsky.social, has now been #published @physrevlett.bsky.social:

doi.org/10.1103/63py-ph5s

New preprint! Do you like ocean waves? We found similar waves on bacterial colonies! We found that this collective behavior, known as rippling, is nothing but surface waves on an active nematic. @princeton.edu @mpipks.bsky.social @ub.edu @icreacommunity.bsky.social

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Delighted to announce “Hydrodynamic Approaches to Active Matter: Successes and Future Challenges”, will now take place on 6–10 October 2025 at @mpipks.bsky.social, on the occasion of John Toner’s 71st birthday. We hope you will join us.

www.pks.mpg.de/haam26

Now #published @physrevlett.bsky.social: the answer to the question that Euler did not solve three hundred years ago*. @zhaoshh.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1103/63py-ph5s

* Possible reasons include not having access to Mathematica and predating Riemann (in the non-ecological sense).

Congratulations!
Prof. Igor Herbut (Simon Fraser University) awarded the "Physik-Preis Dresden 2025“

This work explains when new optimal strategies emerge and guides the design of more efficient #quantum technologies.

Publication highlight: www.pks.mpg.de/research/hig...

Research by N. Beato, P. Patil, @marinbukov.bsky.social now #published @physrevlett.bsky.social @physrevx.bsky.social: numerical and analytical tools adapted from statistical physics reveal phase transitions in quantum control landscapes.

doi.org/10.1103/dqvj-p6fq
doi.org/10.1103/27nn-cb3t

Successful candidates are expected to have at least one year of postdoctoral experience at an institution
other than the one at which their PhD was awarded. Applications for this fellowship directly after completion
of the PhD might be considered in exceptional cases.

The call for our 2026 Distinguished PKS Postdoctoral Fellow is now open! Distinguished PKS postdoctoral fellows appear personally along with the departments and groups on the main research page of the institute. You can apply here: www.pks.mpg.de/PKSFellow26
Deadline is the 21st of November

Apply now by uploading your documents and filling our application form here:
www.pks.mpg.de/PKSFellow26
Further details of research opportunities can be found on our website:
www.pks.mpg.de/research

Fully funded summer #internships in #biophysics @mpipks.bsky.social for Bachelor's and Master's students!

Apply by the 30th of November 2025: www.pks.mpg.de/biophys-inte...

We welcome @fbrauns.bsky.social as a new group leader @mpipks.bsky.social and @mpi-cbg.de!

Now #published as a Letter @physreve.bsky.social: "Geometry of T1 transitions in epithelia" doi.org/10.1103/kdnb-bxdx

My first single-author paper deploys a silly amount of Olympiad geometry on a fundamental biophysics problem, summarised in the attached thread!

@mpipks.bsky.social @mpi-cbg.de

A new call for the ELBE Visiting faculty program is now open! No matter if you are junior or senior faculty, if you work on math/physics/computer science/ML applied to life sciences, you are welcome to submit an application to come and collaborate with the groups at CSBD! Deadline is November 30th.

The Secret to a Smooth Pasta Sauce Wins Ig Nobel Prize Italian researchers studied how the ingredients of the traditional Roman dish cacio e pepe emulsify into a creamy sauce, winning the 2025 Physics Ig Nobel Prize.

Truly chuffed for our fearless food physicists @mpipks.bsky.social + collabs from AT @istaresearch.bsky.social, IT & ES who won this year’s Ig Nobel - the #NobelPrize of hearts❤️for cracking the science of perfect pasta !🍝Kudos to all for intrepidly consuming lots of cheese in the name of science!😋

Phase behavior of Cacio e Pepe sauce “Pasta alla Cacio e pepe” is a traditional Italian dish made with pasta, pecorino cheese, and pepper. Despite its simple ingredient list, achieving the perfect

This work was recently #published @aip-publishing.bsky.social in a special issue on "Kitchen Flows":

G. Bartolucci et al., "Phase behavior of Cacio e Pepe sauce", Phys. Fluids. 37, 044122 (2025)

doi.org/10.1063/5.0255841

Huge congratulations @gbart.bsky.social, Daniel M. Busiello, Matteo Ciarchi, Alberto Corticelli, Ivan Di Terlizzi, Fabrizio Olmeda, Davide Revignas, @vicioms.bsky.social l from the entire @mpipks.bsky.social community for ensuring that our cacio e pepe sauce will avoid the dreaded mozzarella phase!

Tipsy bats and perfect pasta: Ig Nobels celebrate ‘improbable’ research The annual awards are a celebration of weird but thought-provoking science.

IG Nobel Prize in #Physics 2025 to @mpipks.bsky.social researchers for elucidating the phase behaviour of cacio e pepe sauce. The work highlights how physics can also be applied to solve daily-life problems!

nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03045-0

Publication highlight: www.pks.mpg.de/research/hig...

Passive morphogenesis of the gut: work by @zhaoshh.bsky.social @lepuslapis.bsky.social @mpipks.bsky.social @mpi-cbg.de @csbdresden.bsky.social and collaborators at Princeton University, @flatironinstitute.org now #published @pnas.org:

doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2505160122

Very honored to receive this prize from the Spanish Physical Society! Thanks a lot to all my collaborators, who make this possible!

Fallados los Premios de Física RSEF-Fundación BBVA 2025 Conoce a las personas galardonadas en los ámbitos de investigación, las enseñanzas secundaria y universitaria, la innovación, la tecnología y la divulgación

Congratulations to @ricardalert.bsky.social on being awarded the "Young Investigator Prize in Theoretical Physics” by the Spanish Royal Academy of Physics and the BBVA Foundation! The award is in recognition of his contributions to biological physics.

www.fbbva.es/noticias/fal...

Publication highlight: www.pks.mpg.de/research/hig...

Bacteria are surrounded by water! New work @natphys.nature.com by @ricardalert.bsky.social @mpipks.bsky.social & collaborators @ Princeton University shows that water capillary forces organise bacterial colonies into gas, nematic streams, and droplet states.

nature.com/articles/s41567-025-02965-y

New #preprint: "Control of lumen morphology by lateral and basal cell surfaces", a great #biophysics collaboration with Chandraniva Guha Ray, @markusmukenhirn.bsky.social, Alf Honigmann @biotec-tud.bsky.social @poldresden.bsky.social.

arxiv.org/abs/2509.04316

@mpipks.bsky.social @mpi-cbg.de