Thermodynamic origins of topological protection in nonequilibrium stochastic systems

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that topological protection in chemical networks can be fully explained through nonequilibrium thermodynamics, linking topological concepts with thermodynamic principles in stochastic systems.

Contribution

It provides a thermodynamic framework for understanding topological protection in nonequilibrium stochastic systems, extending topological ideas beyond electronic materials.

Findings

Topological protection can be derived from thermodynamic principles.

Chemical networks exhibit topological robustness explained by nonequilibrium thermodynamics.

Simple examples illustrate the thermodynamic origin of topological features.

Abstract

Topological protection has emerged as an organizing principle for understanding and engineering robust collective behavior in electronic and material systems. Recent work suggests that topology may also play a role in organizing stochastic processes relevant to biology and self-assembly. Here, we show that topological protection in chemical networks can be understood entirely in terms of nonequilibrium thermodynamics. We illustrate these ideas using simple examples inspired by the literature.