AG Thiele - Self-Organization and Complexity
Two doctoral theses from nonlinear physics groups reveive the highest honor
On Friday (5 December), the Rectorate of the University of Münster honoured the best doctoral theses of 2025. Among the theses are two from the nonlinear physics research groups, for which we would like to congratulate Thomas Seidel (Gurevich research group) and Tobias Wand (Thiele research group).
A total of 122 young scientists received the highest possible grade of ‘summa cum laude’ for their work. In their honour, the Rectorate hosted a reception in the auditorium of the castle and joined in this ‘highest praise’. ‘We are proud to honour such a large number of successful graduates. This is proof that the University of Münster trains excellent young scientists across its entire range of subjects,’ emphasised Rector Prof. Dr Johannes Wessels. ‘With the topics and content of their work, they are providing significant impetus in their fields of research and thus contributing to the further development of the university's research profile.’ A total of around 750 young scientists obtain their doctorates at the University of Münster each year.
The crystals wave farewell
With two articles in renowned research journals, Alina Steinberg bids farewell to the Institute of Theoretical Physics after six successful years.
In addition to the close succession of publication dates, one thing in particular is surprising: the two papers deal with completely different fields of research!
In the article ‘Localised states in dipolar Bose-Einstein condensates: To be or not to be of second order’, whose title Shakespeare would undoubtedly have liked, she addressed the question of phase transitions in Bose-Einstein condensates. The surprising finding that is published in Physical Review Research: although at first glance it appears that second-order phase transitions occur, bifurcation analysis shows that stable phase coexistence and thus a first-order phase transition is present.
In contrast, in the article ‘Motility-induced crystallisation and rotating crystallites’, published in the journal Physical Review Letters, Alina Steinberg and her co-authors dealt with the theoretical description of self-propelled particles using active phase-field-crystal models. The fact that these systems are not subject to the classical laws of equilibrium thermodynamics can lead to astonishing effects: in addition to various forms of static phase coexistence, rotating crystals appear and, if you look very closely, some that wave goodbye...
We wish Alina all the best for for her future!
Publications:
A. B. Steinberg, F. Maucher, S. V. Gurevich, and U. Thiele, Localized states in dipolar Bose-Einstein condensates: To be or not to be of second order, Physical Review Research 7, 10.1103/13k1-rxmw (2025).
M.P. Holl*, A. B. Steinberg*, M. te Vrugt, and U. Thiele, Motility-induced crystallization and rotating crystallites, Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 158301 (2025).
*shared first authorship