Editorial: Special Issue on Nonequilibrium statistical mechanics: Methods, applications and new trends

The main aim of this Special Issue is to report recent advances and new trends in nonequilibrium statistical mechanics across classical and quantum systems, from theory to experiment, in an interdisciplinary context. Many contributions address metastability and slow relaxation in multistable landscapes, and show the constructive role of fluctuations as a tool for control and function. The papers illustrate: (i) memristors and neuromorphic devices, from materials and reliability to learning and reservoir computing; (ii) Josephson and sine–Gordon excitations; (iii) biological and chemical models; (iv) quantum platforms; and (v) active-matter and nonlinear-transport settings. Across these areas, stochastic methods—colored noise, stochastic sensitivity, first-passage/escape-time analysis, and noise-induced phenomena such as stochastic resonance, noise-enhanced stability, and resonant activation—provide a common toolbox to turn randomness into an asset for robust functionality in realistic conditions.