The World of the Complex Ginzburg-Landau Equation

The cubic complex Ginzburg-Landau equation is one of the most-studied nonlinear equations in the physics community. It describes a vast variety of phenomena from nonlinear waves to second-order phase transitions, from superconductivity, superfluidity and Bose-Einstein condensation to liquid crystals and strings in field theory. Our goal is to give an overview of various phenomena described the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation in one, two and three dimensions from the point of view of condensed matter physicists. Our approach is to study the relevant solutions to get an insight into nonequilibrium phenomena in spatially extended systems.