Mathematical bioPhysics

We develop and apply the methods of mathematical physics and the theory of stochastic processes to study phenomena in biophysics. Our main research focus is currently the non-equilibrium statistical mechanics of single molecules. In particular, we aim at a trajectory-based description of macromolecular conformation dynamics as well as of their spatial transport, binding, and reactions. In our work we employ a combination of rigorous analysis corroborated by computer simulations.

For more details on particular projects, please visit our Research page

Interested in joining us? Please visit the Open Positions page for available positions.

Press releases & research news

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Thermodynamic transport inequality: Inferring dissipation from observed transport from single-molecule to bulk observables

August 09, 2024

Small biological systems are inherently stochastic due to thermal fluctuations. Inferring dissipation, that is, if and how far biological systems (or processes) are driven out of equilibrium, from fluctuating observations, which typically track only a small subset of degrees of freedom, remains a key challenge in modern non-equilibrium physics. more

Heating and cooling are fundamentally asymmetric

January 03, 2024

If you take a coin out of an ice bath, it warms up over time. Likewise, a hot coin that you have just taken out of a sauna cools down. The fact that systems, here the coin, thermally adapt to their environment is due to the heat flow that results from temperature differences. more

10 most recent papers

Link to publication list of the department

Blom, K.; Makarov, D. E.; Godec, A.: Hallmarks of deception in asset-exchange models. Physical Review Research 7, 013279 (2025)

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Dieball, C.; Godec, A.: Perspective: Time irreversibility in systems observed at coarse resolution. The Journal of Chemical Physics 162, 090901 (2025)

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Dieball, C.; Mohebi Satalsari, Y.; Zuccolotto-Bernez, A. B.; Egelhaaf, S. U.; Escobedo-Sánchez, M. A.; Godec, A.: Precisely controlled colloids: a playground for path-wise non-equilibrium physics. Soft Matter 21 (11), pp. 2170 - 2181 (2025)

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Blom, K.; Thiele, U.; Godec, A.: Local order controls the onset of oscillations in the nonreciprocal Ising model. Physical Review E 111 (2), 024207 (2025)

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Tabanera-Bravo, J.; Godec, A.: Multiple Pareto-optimal solutions of the dissipation-adaptation trade-off. Physical Review Research 7, 013020 (2025)

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Goswami, K.; Cherstvy, A. G.; Godec, A.; Metzler, R.: Anomalous diffusion of active Brownian particles in responsive elastic gels: Nonergodicity, non-Gaussianity, and distributions of trapping times. Physical Review E 110, 044609 (2024)

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Vollmar, L.; Bebon, R.; Schimpf, J.; Flietel, B.; Celiksoy, S.; Sönnichsen, C.; Godec, A.; Hugel, T.:

Model-free inference of memory in conformational dynamics of a multi-domain protein

Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical 57 365001

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Dieball, C.; Godec, A.: Thermodynamic Bounds on Generalized Transport: From Single-Molecule to Bulk Observables. Physical Review Letters 133 (6), 067101 (2024)

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Blom, K.; Song, K.; Vouga, E.; Godec, A.; Makarov, D. E.: Milestoning estimators of dissipation in systems observed at a coarse resolution. PNAS 121 (17), e2318333121 (2024)

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Zhao, X.; Hartich, D.; Godec, A.: Emergence of Memory in Equilibrium versus Nonequilibrium Systems. Physical Review Letters 132 (14), 147101 (2024)

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