T. Bountis – författare

Charge transport through the transfer of protons between molecules has long been recognized as a fundamental process, which plays an important role in many chemical reactions. In particular, proton transfer through Hydrogen (H-) bonds has been identified as the main mechanism, via which many bio­ logical functions are performed and many properties of such basic substances as proteins and ice can be understood. In this volume, several of these important aspects of the H-bond are rep­ resented. As the division in different sections already indicates, present day research in proton teansfer in biochemistry, biology, and the physics of water and ice remains highly active and very exciting. Nearly a decade ago, a novel approach to the study of collective proton motion in H-bonded systems was proposed, in which this phenomenon was explained by the propagation of certain coherent structures called solitons. In the years that followed, the approach ofsoliton dynamics was further extended and developed by many researchers around the world, into a legitimate and useful method for the analysis of proton transfer in H-bonded systems. Dr. Stephanos Pnevmatikos, the original Director of this ARW, was one of the pioneers in the application ofsoliton ideas to the study ofcharge transport through H-bonds. Having used similar concepts himself in his research on 2D lattices) he was convinced energy transfer through molecular chains (and that solitons can play an important role in enhancing our understanding of protonic conductivity.

Many conferences, meetings, workshops, summer schools and symposia on nonlinear dynamical systems are being organized these days, dealing with a great variety of topics and themes -classical and quantum, theoretical and experimental. Some focus on integrability, or discuss the mathematical foundations of chaos. Others explore the beauty of fractals, or examine endless possibilities of applications to problems of physics, chemistry, biology and other sciences. A new scientific discipline has thus emerged, with its own distinct philosophical viewpoint and an impressive arsenal of new methods and techniques, which may be called Chaotic Dynamics. Perhaps its most outstanding achievement so far has been to shed new light on many long­ standing issues involving complicated, irregular or "chaotic" nonlinear phenomena. The concepts of randomness, complexity and unpredictability have been critically re-examined and the fundamental importance of scaling, self-similarity and sensitive dependence on parameters and initial conditions has been firmly established. In this NATO ASI, held at the seaside Greek city of Patras, between July 11- 20, 1991, a serious effort was made to bring together scientists representing many of the different aspects of Chaotic Dynamics. Our main aim was to review recent advances, evaluate the current state of the art and identify some of the more promising directions for research in Chaotic Dynamics.

Charge transport through the transfer of protons between molecules has long been recognized as a fundamental process, which plays an important role in many chemical reactions. In particular, proton transfer through Hydrogen (H-) bonds has been identified as the main mechanism, via which many bio­ logical functions are performed and many properties of such basic substances as proteins and ice can be understood. In this volume, several of these important aspects of the H-bond are rep­ resented. As the division in different sections already indicates, present day research in proton teansfer in biochemistry, biology, and the physics of water and ice remains highly active and very exciting. Nearly a decade ago, a novel approach to the study of collective proton motion in H-bonded systems was proposed, in which this phenomenon was explained by the propagation of certain coherent structures called solitons. In the years that followed, the approach ofsoliton dynamics was further extended and developed by many researchers around the world, into a legitimate and useful method for the analysis of proton transfer in H-bonded systems. Dr. Stephanos Pnevmatikos, the original Director of this ARW, was one of the pioneers in the application ofsoliton ideas to the study ofcharge transport through H-bonds. Having used similar concepts himself in his research on 2D lattices) he was convinced energy transfer through molecular chains (and that solitons can play an important role in enhancing our understanding of protonic conductivity.