Related papers: Evolution in complex systems
We study the probabilities of evolution based on random mutations and natural selection. We conclude that evolution to multicellular eukaryots, or even prokaryots, is unlikely to be the result of only random mutations. Complex organisms…
In this article we discuss several aspects of the stochastic dynamics of spin models. The paper has two independent parts. Firstly, we explore a few properties of the multi-point correlations and responses of generic systems evolving in…
The relation between network structure and dynamics is determinant for the behavior of complex systems in numerous domains. An important long-standing problem concerns the properties of the networks that optimize the dynamics with respect…
Diverse biological networks exhibit universal features distinguished from those of random networks, calling much attention to their origins and implications. Here we propose a minimal evolution model of Boolean regulatory networks, which…
Although higher-order interactions are known to affect the typical state of dynamical processes giving rise to new collective behavior, how they drive the emergence of rare events and fluctuations is still an open problem. We investigate…
Dynamical processes on complex networks, ranging from biological, technological and social systems, show phase transitions between distinct global states of the system. Often, such transitions rely upon the interplay between the structure…
Many complex systems satisfy a set of constraints on their degrees of freedom, and at the same time, they are able to work and adapt to different conditions. Here, we describe the emergence of this ability in a simplified model in which the…
The theory of complex networks and of disordered systems is used to study the stability and dynamical properties of a simple model of material flow networks defined on random graphs. In particular we address instabilities that are…
Statistical analysis indicates that the fossil extinction record is compatible with a distribution of extinction events whose frequency is related to their size by a power law with an exponent close to two. This result is in agreement with…
Complex systems theory pays much attention to simple mechanisms producing nontrivial patterns, especially power laws. However, power laws with exponent close to one also result from complex mixtures of mechanisms that, in isolation, would…
We propose a mechanical model for the behaviour of rocks based on progressive damage at the elementary scale and elastic interaction. It allows us to simulate several experimental observations: mechanical behaviour ranging from brittle to…
Different aspects of the predictability problem in dynamical systems are reviewed. The deep relation among Lyapunov exponents, Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy, Shannon entropy and algorithmic complexity is discussed. In particular, we emphasize…
We propose a minimal model of the dynamics of diversity -- replicator equations with extinction, invasion and mutation. We numerically study the behavior of this simple model and show that it displays completely different behavior from the…
Equilibrium is a rather ideal situation, the exception rather than the rule in Nature. Whenever the external or internal parameters of a physical system are varied its subsequent relaxation to equilibrium may be either impossible or take…
Stability is a desirable property of complex ecosystems. If a community of interacting species is at a stable equilibrium point then it is able to withstand small perturbations to component species' abundances without suffering adverse…
Molecular phenotypes are important links between genomic information and organismic functions, fitness, and evolution. Complex phenotypes, which are also called quantitative traits, often depend on multiple genomic loci. Their evolution…
A natural example of evolution can be described by a time-dependent two degrees-of-freedom Hamiltonian. We choose the case where initially the Hamiltonian derives from a general cubic potential, the linearised system has frequencies 1 and…
We provide evidence of an extreme form of sensitivity to initial conditions in a family of one-dimensional self-ruling dynamical systems. We prove that some hyperchaotic sequences are closed-form expressions of the orbits of these…
Although classical economic theory is based on the concept of stable equilibrium, real economic systems appear to be always out of equilibrium. Indeed, they share many of the dynamical features of other complex systems, e.g., ecological…
A celebrated and controversial hypothesis conjectures that some biological systems --parts, aspects, or groups of them-- may extract important functional benefits from operating at the edge of instability, halfway between order and…