Research Seminar in Dynamics

This seminar will be held during the summer semester. Four topics are offered, each centered on a specific research paper. Students will work independently on one assigned paper under the guidance of a supervisor.

During the semester, students are expected to study the paper in depth, place it within the relevant scientific context, and prepare a clear presentation. Regular meetings with the supervisor will support the understanding of the material and the preparation process.

At the end of the semester, each student will present the assigned paper in a formal seminar. In addition, a concise two-page handout summarizing the main ideas, methods, and results must be submitted.

Since the seminar awards credit points, a thorough understanding is required. Students should be able to answer questions not only about the paper itself, but also about the background literature assumed by the authors. This may necessitate additional independent literature research. Assessment is based primarily on the final presentation and the demonstrated depth of understanding.

Topic 1

Gendelman & Karmi (2019): Basic mechanisms of escape of a harmonically forced classical particle from a potential well.

This paper investigates escape phenomena in nonlinear dynamical systems, analyzing how harmonic forcing can drive a particle out of a potential well. It reveals distinct escape scenarios associated with resonance effects and transient dynamics.

Link: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11071-019-04985-9

Supervisor: Dr-Ing. Attila Genda
Topic 2

Messenger & Bortz (2021): Weak SINDy: Galerkin-Based Data-Driven Model Selection.

The paper presents a method for discovering governing equations of dynamical systems directly from data. By using a weak (integral) formulation, the approach achieves improved robustness to measurement noise compared to classical sparse identification techniques.

Link: https://epubs.siam.org/doi/10.1137/20M1343166

Supervisor: Dr-Ing. Yinnan Luo
Topic 3

Leimkuhler & Matthews (2016): Efficient molecular dynamics using geodesic integration and solvent-solute splitting.

This work introduces advanced numerical techniques for constrained molecular dynamics simulations. By combining geodesic integration with force splitting, the method enables significantly larger stable time steps while maintaining high accuracy and sampling quality.

Link: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rspa/article/472/2189/20160138/57122/Efficient-molecular-dynamics-using-geodesic

Supervisor: Dr-Ing. Timo Ströhle
Topic 4

Niehues et al. (2024): Resonant solitary states in complex networks.

The paper studies solitary states in networks of coupled oscillators, where individual nodes desynchronize while the remainder of the network stays synchronized. It explains how network topology and resonance with collective modes determine the existence and stability of such states.

Link: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1367-2630/ad8b63

Supervisor: Dr. Nico Novelli

Registration for the seminar is carried out by contacting the supervisor of the desired topic directly via email:

If multiple students request the same topic, allocation will be based on a first-come, first-served principle. Early registration is therefore strongly recommended.