Science of Coupled Nonlinear Oscillators (50 Years of the Linear Response Theory――Toward Nonlinear and Nonequilibrium Physics)

Abstract

This article begins with a brief review of how the science of nonlinear phenomena in Japan emerged out of the rather chaotic status of the early 1970th when the Japanese leaders in statistical mechanics were aiming to establish a second golden age of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics. The second part is devoted to a short history of a particular branch of nonlinear science, namely the theory of coupled nonlinear oscillators, as viewed from the author's personal experiences.