Time-Dependent Billiards

Dynamical systems of a billiard type are a fundamental notion relevant for the understanding of numerous phenomena observed in statistical mechanics, Hamiltonian dynamics, nonlinear physics, and others. By means of billiard models, the principal ideas as Boltzmann ergodic hypothesis, related to the foundation of statistical physics, and deterministic diffusion gained more deep insight. However, more sophisticated and realistic results may be obtained if billiards are considered with time-dependent boundaries. Such kind of billiard systems represent a natural generalization of mathematical billiards and more adequately reflects the observed physical phenomena. This Focus Issue presents recent progress in this area with contributions on new ways and specific model studies.