Structural Self-Assembly and Glassy Dynamics in Locally Adaptive Networks

TL;DR

This paper models adaptive transport networks across biological systems, revealing their tendency to develop hierarchical structures and exhibit glassy dynamics characterized by slow evolution and sudden reorganizations.

Contribution

It introduces a generic dynamical system model for adaptive networks, demonstrating hierarchical organization and glassy dynamics in simulated network evolution.

Findings

Networks develop a hierarchical architecture with a system-spanning backbone.

Long-term dynamics show glassy behavior with slow changes and reorganization bursts.

Simulation results highlight the adaptive and complex nature of biological transport networks.

Abstract

Transport networks play a key role across four realms of eukaryotic life: slime molds, fungi, plants, and animals. In addition to the developmental algorithms that build them, many also employ adaptive strategies to respond to stimuli, damage, and other environmental changes. We model these adapting network architectures using a generic dynamical system on weighted graphs and find in simulation that these networks ultimately develop a hierarchical organization of the final weighted architecture accompanied by the formation of a system-spanning backbone. In addition, we find that the long term equilibration dynamics exhibit glassy behavior characterized by long periods of slow changes punctuated by bursts of reorganization events.