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 secondorder 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.

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A simple generalized time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equation valid for dirty superconductors in the vicinity of T c is derived. For thin homogeneous filaments it exhibits oscillatory phase-slip solutions below and above the critical depairing current. The results are compared with I-V curves observed in whiskers and microbridges.

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The theoretical description of the threshold and near-threshold behavior of electrohydrodynamic convection in nematic liquid crystals in the (low-frequency) conduction regime is reconsidered. We present essentially the full three-dimensional linear stability analysis of the basic state and a major part of the weakly-nonlinear theory of the convective state. Boundary conditions at the upper and lower plates as well as the time dependence are treated rigorously but the flexoelectric effect is neglected. Related transitions like the periodic splay-twist instability, which is relevant in polymer materials with positive dielectric anisotropy, are also considered. We give criteria for finding the oblique-roll state and for the competition between different instabilities. Comparison with experiments is made wherever possible. Good qualitative and sometimes quantitative agreement is found