Statistical Physics: From Quantum Fluctuations to Soft Matter and Viral Assemblies

This Special Topic honors the memory of Rudolf (Rudi) Podgornik, a pioneer in the statistical physics of Coulomb systems—electrolytes, ionic liquids, polyelectrolytes, and charged membranes—and in fluctuation-induced forces such as Casimir and van der Waals interactions. His work combined analytical, often field-theoretic approaches with numerical simulations, and even some experiments. Over his career, he published 50 articles in JCP. This volume surveys the equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical physics of soft matter, electrolytes, polymers, and liquid crystals, as well as biologically relevant systems including DNA, membranes, viruses, and active matter.