Few is different: deciphering many-body dynamics in mesoscopic quantum gases

Journal article

Emergent macroscopic descriptions of matter, such as hydrodynamics, are central to our description of complex physical systems across a wide spectrum of energy scales. The conventional understanding of these many-body phenomena has recently been shaken by a number of experimental findings. Collective behavior of matter has been observed in mesoscopic systems, such as high-energy hadron–hadron collisions, or ultracold gases with only a few strongly interacting fermions. In such systems, the separation of scales between macroscopic and microscopic dynamics (at the heart of any effective theory) is inapplicable. To address the conceptual challenges that arise from these observations and explore the universality of emergent descriptions of matter, the EMMI Rapid Reaction Task Force was assembled. This document summarizes the RRTF discussions on recent theoretical and experimental advances in this rapidly developing field. Leveraging technological breakthroughs in the control of quantum systems, we can now quantitatively explore what it means for a system to exhibit behavior beyond the sum of its individual parts. In particular, the report highlights how the (in)applicability of hydrodynamics and other effective theories can be probed across three principal frontiers: the size frontier, the equilibrium frontier, and the interaction frontier.

Authors: Berges, J; Brandstetter, S; Brewer, J; Bruun, G; Enss, T

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Springer
• Journal: The European Physical Journal A
• Volume: 62
• Issue: 6
• Article number: 115
• Publication date: 2026-06-12
• Acceptance date: 2026-03-19
• DOI: 10.1140/epja/s10050-026-01843-2
• EISSN: 1434-601X
• ISSN: 1434-6001
• Language: English