Activity Mediated Interactions in Soft Matter. Structure, Interactions, and Phase Transitions 

    Codina Sala, Joan (Date of defense: 2018-10-09)

    In this thesis we asses the phenomena of arising interactions in soft matter in coexistence with soft active matter. As a non-equilibrium bath we introduce ensembles of self-propelled particles, granular shaken beds, and ...

    Anomalous transport and diffusion of Brownian particles on disordered landscapes 

    Suñé Simon, Marc (Date of defense: 2016-11-25)

    Brownian motion refers to the random movement that undergo mesosized particles suspended in a simple sol- vent. Einstein’s probabilistic approach to the Brownian motion is founded on the principal that it is on account of ...

    Dynamics and Effective Connectivity in Bi- and Three–dimensional Neuronal Cultures: from Self–organization to Engineering 

    Estévez Priego, Estefanía (Date of defense: 2019-11-22)

    This thesis was part of the European consortium MESOBRAIN, a team of 5 organizations that joined efforts in nanofabrication, cell culturing, imaging and data analysis to build tailored human 3D networks. The thesis timing ...

    Forces and flows in cells and tissues. Blebs, active gels, and collective cell migration 

    Alert Zenón, Ricard (Date of defense: 2018-01-12)

    In this thesis, we have studied mechanical aspects of some biological processes in cells and tissues, which we addressed by developing theoretical models based on the physics of soft active matter. The thesis contains three ...

    Free energy and information-content measurements in thermodynamic and molecular ensembles 

    Martínez Monge, Álvaro (Date of defense: 2019-05-28)

    Single-molecule experiments have emerged as a powerful tool that allow researchers to investigate the physical behavior of individual molecules with unprecedented resolution. The feasibility exerting forces at the piconewton ...

    Giant caloric and multicaloric effects in magnetic alloys 

    Gràcia Condal, Adrià (Date of defense: 2022-04-21)

    The urgent need to reduce our footprint on the earth environment is leading to ever more stringent commitments to decrease greenhouse gases emissions, which entails one of the greatest challenges that mankind has to tackle. ...

    Giant caloric effects in the vicinity of first-order phase transitions 

    Stern i Taulats, Enric (Date of defense: 2017-04-07)

    Solid state materials are candidates to exhibit a large field-driven thermal response in the vicinity of first-order transitions. The strong sensitivity of the transition temperature with the applied field and the latent ...

    Linear and nonlinear approaches to unravel dynamics and connectivity in neuronal cultures 

    Tibau Martorell, Elisenda (Date of defense: 2017-09-15)

    In the present thesis, we propose to explore neuronal circuits at the mesoscale, an approach in which one monitors small populations of few thousand neurons and concentrates in the emergence of collective behavior. In our ...

    Modelling the dynamics of cellular membranes 

    Fernández i Gallén, Andreu (Date of defense: 2022-07-08)

    Membranes are present in all cells, in some viruses, and are involved in all kinds of biological functions. The goal of this thesis is to expand our knowledge of this element, in hope that this -on top of all the other ...

    Nanofabrication, simulation and optical characterization of plasmonic nanostructures 

    Conde Rubio, Ana (Date of defense: 2018-09-13)

    This thesis is devoted to the nanofabrication, simulation and optical characterization of different plasmonic nanostructures. When an electromagnetic wave reaches a metallic nanostructure, it can give rise to collective ...

    Non-Equilibrium Dynamics of Driven and Confined Colloidal Systems 

    Cereceda López, Eric (Date of defense: 2023-07-14)

    [eng] In this thesis, I study the behavior of confined colloidal particles in aqueous suspension driven through an optical potential. For this purpose, I use micro-meter polystyrene particles, which I confine in the optical ...

    Nonlinear and spatial dynamics for multicellular organisms 

    Mercadal Melià, Josep (Date of defense: 2022-06-16)

    The development of living systems, from their conception to their death, involves a very tight coordination between gene expression in time and space. The processes involved in such an unfolding do not solely depend on the ...

    Out-of-equilibrium dynamics in driven and active magnetic colloids 

    Massana-Cid, Helena (Date of defense: 2019-12-11)

    In this thesis we investigate the structure formation and the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of driven and active magnetic colloids. The interactions in our system were tuned in situ by using external fields, with the aim of ...

    Prospects of microwave spectrometry for vascular stent monitoring. Towards a non-invasive and non-ionizing follow-up alternative 

    Arauz-Garofalo, Gianluca (Date of defense: 2017-06-13)

    Throughout this thesis we have assessed the prospects of microwave spectrometry (MWS) as a non-ionizing non-invasive monitoring alternative for stented patients in a very early proof-of-concept stage. In Chapter 1 we have ...

    Revealing DNA dynamics from atomistic to genomic level by multiscale computational approaches 

    Walther, Jürgen (Date of defense: 2019-10-04)

    The study of DNA from atomistic to mesoscopic level and connecting different resolution levels constitutes a major challenge since the new millennium. In the early 2000s, experiments could resolve for the first time the ...

    Spatio-temporal dynamics of intercellular Notch signaling: a modeling approach 

    Luna Escalante, Juan Camilo (Date of defense: 2016-10-14)

    Intercellular signalling is a mechanism by which cells communicate and mediate coordinated responses. In this Thesis we perform theoretical and computational analyses to evaluate spatio-temporal organizations that can arise ...

    Statistical thermodynamics of long-range interacting systems and near-field thermal radiation 

    Latella, Ivan (Date of defense: 2016-06-27)

    Two main topics are examined in this thesis: classical systems with long-range interactions and thermal radiation in the near-field regime. In the first part, we present a thermodynamic approach describing systems with ...