Foreword: special issue on statistical physics and complex systems

Abstract

Statistical Physics is a very active field of research, and there has been a very substantial gain in our understanding of behavior of bulk matter over the last 150 years, following the paths opened by the pioneers like Maxwell, Boltzmann, Gibbs and Onsager. Following the works of Kadanoff, Fisher and Wilson, a good deal of understanding of continuous phase transitions in equilibrium systems has been achieved. There are many advances in non-equilibrium systems, and applications of these ideas to interdisciplinary areas like biophysics and econophysics. But this progress has made the task of an entering research scholar wanting to contribute to this growth harder. If one wants to start research in any subfield, one needs to know about earlier work in the subfield. This is often scattered in review articles, and monographs, where the intended audience is assumed to have a rather high level of preparation.