Kyoto University (京都大学) / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 工学博士 / 甲第1863号 / 工博第493号 / 新制||工||364(附属図書館) / 4871 / UT51-52-L34 / 京都大学大学院工学研究科原子核工学専攻 / (主査)教授 片山 泰久, 教授 向坂 正勝, 教授 清水 栄 / 学位規則第5条第1項該当

Ἡ παροῦσα μελέτη ἀποτελεῖ διπλωματική ἐργασία στό Τμῆμα Φιλοσοφίας τοῦ Πανεπιστημίου Πατρῶν. Μέ αὐτή θά ἀποπειραθοῦμε νά ἀναλύσουμε μέρος ἑνός ἀπό τά ἔργα τοῦ σπουδαιότερου, ἴσως, ἀρχαίου Ἕλληνα φιλοσόφου, τοῦ Ἀριστοτέλη. Πρόκειται γιά τό ἔργο «Φυσικῆς Ἀκροάσεως Α΄» καί συγκεκριμένα γιά τά κεφάλαια 6, 7, 8 καί 9 τοῦ ἔργου. Τά παραπάνω κεφάλαια τοῦ Ἀριστοτελικοῦ ἔργου παρουσιάζονται καί ἀναλύονται σέ ἀντίστοιχα κεφάλαια αὐτῆς τῆς ἐργασίας. Προτάσσεται γενική εἰσαγωγή, στήν ὁποία παρουσιάζεται συνοπτικά τό περιεχόμενο τῆς ἐργασίας καί ἀναφέρονται κάποια βασικά βιογραφικά στοιχεῖα τοῦ μεγάλου πανεπιστήμονα φιλοσόφου, τό ἔργο τοῦ ὁποίου κατέχει ἐξέχουσα θέση στήν παγκόσμια φιλοσοφία καί ἐπιστήμη. Ἀπό τή θέση αὐτή ἐκφράζω τίς θερμές εὐχαριστίες μου στόν ἐπιβλέποντα κ. Στασινό Σταυριανέα, Λέκτορα τοῦ Τμήματος Φιλοσοφίας τοῦ Πανεπιστημίου Πατρῶν, τόσο γιά τή βοήθειά του στήν ἐπιλογή τοῦ θέματος, ὅσο καί γιά τήν πολύτιμη καθοδηγησή του στήν πορεία τῆς ἐργασίας, καθώς καί ὅλους ὅσοι μέ κάθε τρόπο μέ βοήθησαν ἤ μέ διευκόλυναν στήν ὁλοκλήρωση αὐτῆς τῆς ἐργασίας. / This study consists dissertations in section Philosophy, University of Patras. With that attempts at analysis by one of his works, perhaps most importantly, Ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle. The project is called "Natural Hearing A΄" and specifically on chapters 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the project. The above chapters Aristotle work presented and analyzed in respective chapters of this work. Preceded by a general introduction which summarizes the content of work and specifying some basic biographical information on major universities philosopher, whose work occupies a prominent position in world philosophy and science. From this position I express my warmest thanks to Supervisor Mr. Stasinos Stavrianeas, Lecturer of the Department of Philosophy, University of Patras, both for his help in choosing the subject and for valuable guidance in the course of work, and all those who in any way helped or by facilitated Consummation this work.

Σκοπός της μελέτης ήταν η ανάπτυξη και αξιολόγηση ενός προγράμματος πολυμέσων για την εκμάθηση των φυσικών αρχών της μαγνητικής τομογραφίας από μεταπτυχιακούς φοιτητές της Ιατρικής Φυσικής του Πανεπιστημίου της Πάτρας. Η ανάπτυξη του εκπαιδευτικού προγράμματος έγινε με την χρήση κατάλληλου προγράμματος συγγραφής πολυμέσων. Δεκαοχτώ μεταπτυχιακοί φοιτητές της Ιατρικής Φυσικής κατατάχτηκαν τυχαία σε δύο ομάδες, την ομάδα των υπολογιστών και την ομάδα του βιβλίου. Όλοι οι συμμετέχοντες αξιολογήθηκαν με ένα τεστ με ερωτήσεις πολλαπλής επιλογής 2 εβδομάδες πριν την αρχή των παραδόσεων, στο τέλος των παραδόσεων και ένα μήνα μετά το τέλος των παραδόσεων. Επιπλέον συμπλήρωσαν ερωτηματολόγια για την αξιολόγηση των στάσεων και πεποιθήσεων τους σχετικά με την χρήση υπολογιστών στην εκπαίδευση. Οι βαθμολογίες των δύο ομάδων συγκρίθηκαν με την βοήθεια της στατιστικής δοκιμασίας ANOVA. Το εκπαιδευτικό πρόγραμμα που αναπτύχτηκε αποτελείται από 6 ενότητες για την διδασκαλία πολύπλοκων φυσικών αρχών MRI με την βοήθεια animation. Κάθε ενότητα περιλαμβάνει ένα τεστ και οι επιδόσεις των χρηστών μπορούν να καταγραφούν και να αναλυθούν με ένα ξεχωριστό πρόγραμμα. Στην ενότητα που χρησιμοποιήθηκε για την αξιολόγηση οι φοιτητές της ομάδας με τους υπολογιστές πέτυχαν στατιστικά υψηλότερους βαθμούς (Μ=80.5, SD=9.4) από τους σπουδαστές με το βιβλίο (M=61.3, SD=12.5, p=.003). Επιπλέον οι φοιτητές των υπολογιστών φαίνεται να εκτιμούν περισσότερο την εκμάθηση μέσω της χρήσης υπολογιστών συγκριτικά με τους σπουδαστές της ομάδας του βιβλίου (p=.230). Οι απόψεις των φοιτητών για την επέκταση της χρήσης των πολυμέσων στην ιατρική φυσική εστιάζονται σε θέματα σχετικά με τα κίνητρα, τις εκπαιδευτικές δυνατότητες και την αξία του περιεχομένου. Τα αναφερθέντα μειονεκτήματα ήταν ελάχιστα, και ήταν επικεντρωμένα κυρίως σε τεχνικά θέματα και σε μαθησιακές δυσκολίες. Η εκπαίδευση με χρήση πολυμέσων είναι χρήσιμη και επικουρική μέθοδος για την εκμάθηση των φυσικών αρχών MRI από μεταπτυχιακούς φοιτητές. Η παρούσα μελέτη έδειξε ότι η χρήση κατάλληλων προγραμμάτων πολυμέσων βελτιώνει την κατανόηση πολύ περισσότερο συγκριτικά με παραδοσιακές μεθόδους μάθησης. / The objectives of this study were to develop and evaluate an interactive multimedia computer based instructional package in MRI physics and to provide first year medical physics postgraduate students of University of Patras with an interactive means of self-study and self-evaluation. An authoring system was used to develop the courseware package. Eighteen postgraduate medical physics students were prospectively, randomly assigned to receive instruction on the same topic from a textbook and an interactive computer module. Participants were evaluated by a multiple choice test 2 weeks before the lectures, at the end of the lectures and by a retention test 1 month after the end. They also completed questionnaires to elicit their attitudes toward the two instructional methods. Mean test scores of the textbook and computer groups were compared by means of analysis of variance. The developed MRI program is a suite of 6 interactive modules designed to dynamically teach complex MRI concepts using media-rich animations. All modules include a quiz and since patterns of use by student can be recorded a Log Decryption utility and a Log Reader utility was also developed. The tested module demonstrated that students in the computer group (M=80.5, SD=9.4) scored significantly higher on their post-test when compared with the textbook group (M=61.3, SD=12.5, p=.003). Furthermore students in the computer group seem to appreciate multimedia modules more compared to textbook students (p=.003). There were no differences noted between method of instruction and learner satisfaction (p=.230). Students’ rationale for expanding the use of multimedia in physics education seemed to focus on issues concerning motivation, instructional capabilities and content value. The disadvantages reported were few, their prevalence considerably small, especially after the intervention and were mostly focused on technical issues and some difficulties in learning. Computer aided instruction is a useful and effective aid for teaching MRI principles to postgraduate students. The study demonstrated that the inclusion of properly designed multimedia modules enhance conceptual understanding far more than do traditional methods.

Negli ultimi vent’anni sono state proposte al livello internazionale alcune analisi dei problemi per le scienze nella scuola e diverse strategie per l’innovazione didattica. Molte ricerche hanno fatto riferimento a una nuova nozione di literacy scientifica, quale sapere fondamentale dell’educazione, indipendente dalle scelte professionali successive alla scuola. L’ipotesi di partenza di questa ricerca sostiene che alcune di queste analisi e l’idea di una nuova literacy scientifica di tipo non-vocazionale mostrino notevoli limiti quando rapportate al contesto italiano. Le specificità di quest’ultimo sono state affrontate, innanzitutto, da un punto di vista comparativo, discutendo alcuni documenti internazionali sull’insegnamento delle scienze. Questo confronto ha messo in luce la difficoltà di ottenere un insieme di evidenze chiare e definitive sui problemi dell’educazione scientifica discussi da questi documenti, in particolare per quanto riguarda i dati sulla crisi delle vocazioni scientifiche e sull’attitudine degli studenti verso le scienze. Le raccomandazioni educative e alcuni progetti curricolari internazionali trovano degli ostacoli decisivi nella scuola superiore italiana anche a causa di specificità istituzionali, come particolari principi di selezione e l’articolazione dei vari indirizzi formativi. Il presente lavoro si è basato soprattutto su una ricostruzione storico-pedagogica del curricolo di fisica, attraverso l’analisi delle linee guida nazionali, dei programmi di studio e di alcuni rappresentativi manuali degli ultimi decenni. Questo esame del curricolo “programmato” ha messo in luce, primo, il carattere accademico della fisica liceale e la sua debole rielaborazione culturale e didattica, secondo, l’impatto di temi e problemi internazionali sui materiali didattici. Tale impatto ha prodotto dei cambiamenti sul piano delle finalità educative e degli strumenti di apprendimento incorporati nei manuali. Nonostante l’evoluzione di queste caratteristiche del curricolo, tuttavia, l’analisi delle conoscenze storico-filosofiche utilizzate dai manuali ha messo in luce la scarsa contestualizzazione culturale della fisica quale uno degli ostacoli principali per l’insegnamento di una scienza più rilevante e formativa. / Over the past twenty years there have been some international perspectives on the analysis of the problems of school science and some consequent strategies for educational change. Many studies have pointed to a new concept of scientific literacy as a fundamental knowledge, prior to career choices and relevant for every student. The starting hypothesis of this research argues that some of these analyses and the main idea of a non-vocational scientific literacy show significant limitations when related to the Italian context. The specificities of the latter are addressed, first, from a comparative point of view, discussing few international reports on science education. This comparison has highlighted the difficulty of having a set of clear and definitive evidences on the problems of science education discussed by these documents, in particular through the data concerning the crisis in scientific vocations and students’ attitudes towards science. Also the institutional framework of the Italian high schools shows how the educational recommendations and some curricular projects, discussed within the international community, find some important obstacles due to principles of selection and to different school tracks for the upper secondary level. The present work is based primarily on a historical and pedagogical reconstruction of the physics curriculum, through national guidelines, syllabi, and the analysis of some representative textbooks of the last decades. This study of the “intended” curriculum revealed, firstly, the “academic” nature of high school physics and its weak educational value, secondly, the impact, of the international issues discussed, on educational aims and learning tools embodied in textbooks. Despite the evolution of these features of the curriculum, the analysis of historical and philosophical knowledge used by textbooks has highlighted the lack of a cultural contextualization of physics as one of the main obstacles to promoting a more relevant science education.

In this study, detailed characteristics and performance assessment of 3&amp / #8722 / 5 &micro / m p-i-n InSb photodetectors on Si substrates are reported. The detector epilayers were grown on GaAs coated Si substrates by molecular beam apitaxy (MBE). Both homojunction and single heterojunction (AlInSb/InSb) detector structures were investigated. Arrays of 33x33 &micro / m2 detectors were fabricated and flip-chip bonded to a test substrate for detailed electrical and optical characterization. A peak detectivity as high as 1x1010 cmHz1/2/W was achieved with InSb homojunction detectors on Si substrate in spite of the large lattice mismatch between InSb and Si (%19). In both homojunction and single heterojunction structures the differential resistance is significantly degraded by trap assisted tunneling (TAT) under moderately large reverse bias and by ohmic leakage near zero-bias. While the heterojunction structures provide a higher 80 K zero bias differential resistance, the responsivity of this structure is significantly lower than that of homojunction InSb photodiodes. In both homojunction and heterojunction photodetectors, 80K 1/f noise is dominated by TAT processes, and the noise current at 1 Hz follows the empirical relation in= &amp / #945 / TAT(ITAT) &amp / #946 / with &amp / #945 / TAT&amp / #8764 / 1.1x10&amp / #8211 / 6 and &amp / #946 / &amp / #8764 / 0.53.

Cluster mass fraction is an elusive quantity to measure, calculate or estimate accurately for pulsed supersonic gas jets typical of intense laser experiments. The optimization of this parameter is critical for transient phase-matched harmonic generation in an ionized cluster jet at high laser intensity. We present an in-depth study of a rapid, noninvasive, single-shot optical method of determining cluster mass fraction f_c(r,t) at specified positions r within, and at time t after opening the valve of, a high-pressure pulsed supersonic gas jet. A ∼ 2 mJ fs pump pulse ionizes the monomers, causing an immediate drop in the jet’s refractive index n_jet proportional to monomer density, while simultaneously initiating hydrodynamic expansion of the clusters. The latter leads to a second drop in n_jet that is proportional to cluster density and is delayed by ∼ 1 ps. A temporally stretched probe pulse measures the 2-step index evolution in a single shot by frequency domain holography, enabling recovery of f_c. We present the theory behind recovery of f_c in detail. We also present extensive measurements of spatio-temporal profiles f_c(r, t) of cluster mass fraction in a high-pressure supersonic argon jet for various values of backing pressure P, and reservoir temperature T. / text

In this thesis we employ various mean-field approaches to study the shortrange interaction effects in topological insulators. We start with the Kane-Mele model on the decorated honeycomb lattice and study the stability of topological insulator phase against different perturbations. We establish an adiabatic connection between a noninteracting topological insulator and a strongly interacting spin liquid in its Majorana fermion representation. We use the Hartree-Fock mean-field approach, slave-rotor approach and slave-boson approach to study correlation effects related to topological insulators. With the spontaneous symmetry breaking mechanism, we can have an interaction driven topological insulator with extended Hubbard models on the kagome lattice and decorated honeycomb lattice. For the interplay among spin-orbit coupling, distortion and correlation effect in transition metal oxides, we use the slave-rotor mean-field approach to study its phase transition. We identify regimes where a strong topological Mott insulator and a weak topological insulator reside due to the strong Coulomb interaction and distortion. This is relevant to experiments with the transition metal oxides as they hold promise to realize topological insulators. To study the doping effects and a possible spin liquid in Kane-Mele-Hubbard model on the honeycomb lattice, we employ the slave-boson mean-field approach which is appropriate for the intermediate interaction strength. We compare our results with those obtained from other methods. / text

Ce travail a pour objet d'évaluer l'apport de la physique quantique à la compréhension du phénomène de la conscience. Les modèles « classiques » de la conscience proposés actuellement laissent en suspens deux questions importantes: (a) l'explication de la synchronisation de régions éloignées du cerveau qui semble nécessaire à la construction de percepts conscients ; (b) la question du fossé explicatif qui existe entre l'expérience subjective, relevant de ce que le sujet est capable de ressentir de façon privée, et la description de ses corrélats neurophysiologiques dans le langage de la science, à la troisième personne. Les approches quantiques de la conscience sont systématiquement exposées et critiquées. Le « modèle dissipatif du cerveau »proposé par Vitiello et Freeman semble corroborer les données expérimentales et pourrait ainsi contribuer à résoudre cette dernière question (a). Ce modèle utilise une propriété fondamentale de la théorie quantique des champs selon laquelle la brisure spontanée de symétrie au sein d'un système physique donne lieu à l'émergence d'une dynamique collective pour ce système. Les modèles, relavant de la conception du monismeneutre, qui ont développés par Bohm et Hiley, et, plus récemment, par Atmanspacher et Primas, utilisent la théorie quantique pour son pouvoir expressif (concepts de complémentarité et d'intrication) et non comme une théorie de la seule matière pour bâtir une représentation unificatrice du phénomène de la conscience. Ils permettent de dissoudre la question (b) du fossé explicatif. Nous proposons enfin de prolonger et d'appliquer,plus généralement, ce mode de représentation au domaine psychosomatique. / This work aims to assess the contribution of quantum physics to the understanding of the phenomenon ofconsciousness. The "classical" models of consciousness cannat deal with two important questions: (a) thesynchronisation of distant parts of the brain which seems necessary to the construction of conscious percepts;(b) the question of the explanatory gap that exists between subjective experience, which is a private feeling, andthe description of its neurophysiological correlates in the language of science, at the third persan. The quantumalternatives of current models of consciousness are systematically exposed. Vitiello's and Freeman's "dissipativemadel of the brain" seem to corroborate experimental data and could thus contribute to solve question (a). Thismadel appeals to a fundamental property of quantum field theory according to which a spontaneous symmetrybreaking in a physical system (as it happens, the breaking of the rotational symmetry of dipolar molecules of thebrain) gives rise to a collective dynamics for this system. The models, relevant to the neutra! monism conception,that have been developed by Bohm and Hiley and, more recently, by Atmanspacher and by Primas use quantumtheory for its expressive power (concepts of complementarity and entanglement) to build a unifyingrepresentation of the phenomenon of consciousness. They lead to the dissolution of the question (b) of theexplanatory gap. ln the end, we suggest to extend this mode of representation and to apply it, more generally, tothe psychosomatic domain.

Le surf est un sport qui consiste à exécuter des manœuvres en se maintenant debout en équilibre sur une planche transportée par une vague. Dans cette thèse, nous nous intéressons donc au phénomène d’entraînement de particules par une onde. Nous nous sommes en particulier attachés à comprendre deux points déterminants dans la pratique du surf: la capture du surfeur par la vague et l'équilibre du surfeur sur sa planche. Nous avons d'abord établi les critères de surf pour les différents types de vagues. Nous avons montré que la pente et le courant jouent un rôle essentiel dans la capture du surfeur par la vague à son point de déferlement. Le critère de surf établi correspond à condition sur la vitesse relative initiale entre le surfeur et la vague, qui dépend essentiellement de la pente de la vague. Nous avons ensuite montré que le choix de la planche permet de favoriser l'équilibre du surfeur. Le critère de stabilité établi correspond à une hauteur maximale du centre de gravité des surfeurs en fonction des dimensions des planches. Nous avons finalement mis en évidence leur influence sur la vitesse seuil au-delà de laquelle l’équilibre des surfeurs est favorisé. Ainsi, la vitesse initiale du surfeur acquise en ramant est nécessaire pour garantir sa capture et améliorer sa stabilité. Pour finir, nous avons ouvert cette étude d’entraînement de particules par des ondes à deux autres domaines de la Physique : en mécanique et en magnétisme. La diversité des approches expérimentales et leur modélisation théorique commune ont offert une compréhension fondamentale du phénomène. / Surfing is a sport in which the athlet must execute figures while standing in balance on a board, carried itself by a water wave. In this PhD study, we investigate the physical phenomena underlying such a transport of a particle by a wave. We specifically focused our attention on two crucial issues when surfing: the catch of the surfer by the wave and its stability on the board. We first establised under which conditions the surfer is carried by the wave in a quantitative manner, for different kinds of waves. We showed that the slope of the wave and the stream within played a significant role for the wave to be able to catch the surfer when breaking. The surfing condition that we found relates the initial relative velocity between the surfer and the incoming wave, which essentially depends on its slope. We then demonstrated that choosing the right board improves the stability of the surfer. This stability condition sets a maximum height of the center of gravity of the surfer from the board, as a function of the board dimensions. We hence highlighted how they influence the minimal surfer velocity above which the surfer balance becomes more stable. The initial velocity of the surfer after paddling is essential to ensure the surfer to catch the wave and improve his stability. We finally study the phenomenon in two other fields of physics: in mechanics and magnetism. The different experiments as well as their common theoretical modeling led to a global and fundamental understanding of the phenomenon.

La technique des répliques est une technique formidable prenant ses origines de la physique statistique, comme un moyen de calculer l'espérance du logarithme de la constante de normalisation d'une distribution de probabilité à haute dimension. Dans le jargon de physique, cette quantité est connue sous le nom de l’énergie libre, et toutes sortes de quantités utiles, telle que l’entropie, peuvent être obtenue de là par des dérivées. Cependant, ceci est un problème NP-difficile, qu’une bonne partie de statistique computationelle essaye de résoudre, et qui apparaît partout; de la théorie des codes, à la statistique en hautes dimensions, en passant par les problèmes de satisfaction de contraintes. Dans chaque cas, la méthode des répliques, et son extension par (Parisi et al., 1987), se sont prouvées fortes utiles pour illuminer quelques aspects concernant la corrélation des variables de la distribution de Gibbs et la nature fortement nonconvexe de son logarithme negatif. Algorithmiquement, il existe deux principales méthodologies adressant la difficulté de calcul que pose la constante de normalisation: a). Le point de vue statique: dans cette approche, on reformule le problème en tant que graphe dont les nœuds correspondent aux variables individuelles de la distribution de Gibbs, et dont les arêtes reflètent les dépendances entre celles-ci. Quand le graphe en question est localement un arbre, les procédures de message-passing sont garanties d’approximer arbitrairement bien les probabilités marginales de la distribution de Gibbs et de manière équivalente d'approximer la constante de normalisation. Les prédictions de la physique concernant la disparition des corrélations à longues portées se traduise donc, par le fait que le graphe soit localement un arbre, ainsi permettant l’utilisation des algorithmes locaux de passage de messages. Ceci va être le sujet du chapitre 4. b). Le point de vue dynamique: dans une direction orthogonale, on peut contourner le problème que pose le calcul de la constante de normalisation, en définissant une chaîne de Markov le long de laquelle, l’échantillonnage converge à celui selon la distribution de Gibbs, tel qu’après un certain nombre d’itérations (sous le nom de temps de relaxation), les échantillons sont garanties d’être approximativement générés selon elle. Afin de discuter des conditions dans lesquelles chacune de ces approches échoue, il est très utile d’être familier avec la méthode de replica symmetry breaking de Parisi. Cependant, les calculs nécessaires sont assez compliqués, et requièrent des notions qui sont typiquemment étrangères à ceux sans un entrainement en physique statistique. Ce mémoire a principalement deux objectifs : i) de fournir une introduction a la théorie des répliques, ses prédictions, et ses conséquences algorithmiques pour les problèmes de satisfaction de constraintes, et ii) de donner un survol des méthodes les plus récentes adressant la transition de phase, prédite par la méthode des répliques, dans le cas du problème k−SAT, à partir du point de vu statique et dynamique, et finir en proposant un nouvel algorithme qui prend en considération la transition de phase en question. / The replica trick is a powerful analytic technique originating from statistical physics as an attempt to compute the expectation of the logarithm of the normalization constant of a high dimensional probability distribution known as the Gibbs measure. In physics jargon this quantity is known as the free energy, and all kinds of useful quantities, such as the entropy, can be obtained from it using simple derivatives. The computation of this normalization constant is however an NP-hard problem that a large part of computational statistics attempts to deal with, and which shows up everywhere from coding theory, to high dimensional statistics, compressed sensing, protein folding analysis and constraint satisfaction problems. In each of these cases, the replica trick, and its extension by (Parisi et al., 1987), have proven incredibly successful at shedding light on keys aspects relating to the correlation structure of the Gibbs measure and the highly non-convex nature of − log(the Gibbs measure()). Algorithmic speaking, there exists two main methodologies addressing the intractability of the normalization constant: a) Statics: in this approach, one casts the system as a graphical model whose vertices represent individual variables, and whose edges reflect the dependencies between them. When the underlying graph is locally tree-like, local messagepassing procedures are guaranteed to yield near-exact marginal probabilities or equivalently compute Z. The physics predictions of vanishing long range correlation in the Gibbs measure, then translate into the associated graph being locally tree-like, hence permitting the use message passing procedures. This will be the focus of chapter 4. b) Dynamics: in an orthogonal direction, we can altogether bypass the issue of computing the normalization constant, by defining a Markov chain along which sampling converges to the Gibbs measure, such that after a number of iterations known as the relaxation-time, samples are guaranteed to be approximately sampled according to the Gibbs measure. To get into the conditions in which each of the two approaches is likely to fail (strong long range correlation, high energy barriers, etc..), it is very helpful to be familiar with the so-called replica symmetry breaking picture of Parisi. The computations involved are however quite involved, and come with a number of prescriptions and prerequisite notions (s.a. large deviation principles, saddle-point approximations) that are typically foreign to those without a statistical physics background. The purpose of this thesis is then twofold: i) to provide a self-contained introduction to replica theory, its predictions, and its algorithmic implications for constraint satisfaction problems, and ii) to give an account of state of the art methods in addressing the predicted phase transitions in the case of k−SAT, from both the statics and dynamics points of view, and propose a new algorithm takes takes these into consideration.