Diversity sustains an evolving network |
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| Authors: | Ravi Mehrotra Vikram Soni Sanjay Jain |
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| Affiliation: | 1.National Physical Laboratory, K. S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi 110012, India;2.Department of Physics and Astrophysics, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India;3.Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore 560064, India;4.Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA |
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| Abstract: | We study an evolutionary model of a complex system that evolves under catalytic dynamics and Darwinian selection and exhibits spontaneous growth, stasis and then a collapse of its structure. We find that the typical lifetime of the system increases sharply with the diversity of its components or species. We also find that the prime reason for crashes is a naturally occurring internal fragility of the system. This fragility is captured in the network organizational character and is related to a reduced multiplicity of pathways or feedback loops between its components. These results apply to several generalizations of the model as well. This work suggests new parameters for understanding the robustness of evolving molecular networks, ecosystems, societies and markets. |
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| Keywords: | complex networks evolution catalytic dynamics crashes robustness signatures of fragility |
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