Dynamics on Inhomogeneous Landscapes
Aaron Yip
Department of Mathematics
Purdue University
This talk will cover some basic concepts of dynamics on inhomogeneous landscapes. Two examples will be used to illustrate its application and analysis. The first is the manipulation and separation of particles by means of holographical optical traps. The second is the motion by mean curvature of a surface in inhomogeneous medium. The mathematical emphasis is on the investigation of the effective properties and the critical phenomena concerning the pinning and de-pinning transition.