Absolutely complex balanced kinetic systems

TL;DR

This paper investigates conditions under which complex balanced kinetic systems are absolutely complex balanced, extending foundational theorems and introducing new methods for analyzing various classes of kinetic systems.

Contribution

It extends the Horn and Jackson ACB Theorem to new classes of kinetic systems and introduces methods for identifying absolute complex balancing in non-CLP systems.

Findings

Power law reactant determined systems are not ACB

Complex balanced systems with bi-LP property are ACB

New methods like PFF and CIC help analyze non-CLP systems

Abstract

A complex balanced kinetic system is absolutely complex balanced (ACB) if every positive equilibrium is complex balanced. Two results on absolute complex balancing were foundational for modern chemical reaction network theory (CRNT): in 1972, M. Feinberg proved that any deficiency zero complex balanced system is absolutely complex balanced. In the same year, F. Horn and R. Jackson showed that the (full) converse of the result is not true: any complex balanced mass action system, regardless of its deficiency, is absolutely complex balanced. In this paper, we present initial results on the extension of the Horn and Jackson ACB Theorem. In particular, we focus on other kinetic systems with positive deficiency where complex balancing implies absolute complex balancing. While doing so, we found out that complex balanced power law reactant determined kinetic systems (PL-RDK) systems are not ACB. In our search for necessary and sufficient conditions for complex balanced systems to be absolutely complex balanced, we came across the so-called CLP systems (complex balanced systems with a desired "log parametrization" property). It is shown that complex balanced systems with bi-LP property are absolutely complex balanced. For non-CLP systems, we discuss novel methods for finding sufficient conditions for ACB in kinetic systems containing non-CLP systems: decompositions, the Positive Function Factor (PFF) and the Coset Intersection Count (CIC) and their application to poly-PL and Hill-type systems.