New Trends in Kinetic Theory Towards the Complexity of Living Systems

Abstract

The development of a mathematics for living systems is one of the most challenging prospects of this century. The search began with the pioneering contribution of Ilia Prigogine, who developed methods from statistical physics to describe the dynamics of vehicular traffic. This visionary seminal research contribution has given rise to a great deal of research activity, which began at the end of the last century and has been further developed in this century by several authors who have developed mathematical methods, generally focused on applications. These methods are somewhat inspired by the classical kinetic theory, but significant differences have led to the concept of active particles and to a kinetic theory that is ultimately very different from the classical theory. Different approaches have been developed, each of which is in some way an alternative to the others. This paper develops a critical analysis of the scientific activity after Prigogine with the aim of developing a unified mathematical theory, taking into account the conceivable interactions that a mathematical theory of living systems can have with studies of artificial intelligence.