The lattice of balanced equivalence relations of a coupled cell network

A coupled cell system is a collection of dynamical systems, or ‘cells’, that are coupled together. The associated coupled cell network is a labelled directed graph that indicates how the cells are coupled, and which cells are equivalent. Golubitsky, Stewart, Pivato and Török have presented a framework for coupled cell systems that permits a classification of robust synchrony in terms of the concept of a ‘balanced equivalence relation’, which depends solely on the network architecture. In their approach the network is assumed to be finite. We prove that the set of all balanced equivalence relations on a network forms a lattice, in the sense of a partially ordered set in which any two elements have a meet and a join. The partial order is defined by refinement. Some aspects of the theory make use of infinite networks, so we work in the category of networks of ‘finite type’, a class that includes all locally finite networks. This context requires some modifications to the standard framework. As partial compensation, the lattice of balanced equivalence relations can then be proved complete. However, the intersection of two balanced equivalence relations need not be balanced, as we show by a simple example, so this lattice is not a sublattice of the lattice of all equivalence relations with its usual operations of meet and join. We discuss the structure of this lattice and computational issues associated with it. In particular, we describe how to determine whether the lattice contains more than the equality relation. As an example, we derive the form of the lattice for a linear chain of identical cells with feedback

Symbolic Algorithms for Language Equivalence and Kleene Algebra with Tests

We first propose algorithms for checking language equivalence of finite automata over a large alphabet. We use symbolic automata, where the transition function is compactly represented using a (multi-terminal) binary decision diagrams (BDD). The key idea consists in computing a bisimulation by exploring reachable pairs symbolically, so as to avoid redundancies. This idea can be combined with already existing optimisations, and we show in particular a nice integration with the disjoint sets forest data-structure from Hopcroft and Karp's standard algorithm. Then we consider Kleene algebra with tests (KAT), an algebraic theory that can be used for verification in various domains ranging from compiler optimisation to network programming analysis. This theory is decidable by reduction to language equivalence of automata on guarded strings, a particular kind of automata that have exponentially large alphabets. We propose several methods allowing to construct symbolic automata out of KAT expressions, based either on Brzozowski's derivatives or standard automata constructions. All in all, this results in efficient algorithms for deciding equivalence of KAT expressions

Equivalent String Networks and Uniqueness of BPS States

We analyze string networks in 7-brane configurations in IIB string theory. We introduce a complex parameter M characterizing equivalence classes of networks on a fixed 7-brane background and specifying the BPS mass of the network as M_{BPS} = | M |. We show that M can be calculated without knowing the particular representative of the BPS state. Based on detailed examination of backgrounds with three and four 7-branes we argue that equivalent networks may not be simultaneously BPS, an essential requirement of consistency.Comment: 28 pages, LaTeX, 18 eps figure

Topological phase transitions of random networks

To provide a phenomenological theory for the various interesting transitions in restructuring networks we employ a statistical mechanical approach with detailed balance satisfied for the transitions between topological states. This enables us to establish an equivalence between the equilibrium rewiring problem we consider and the dynamics of a lattice gas on the edge-dual graph of a fully connected network. By assigning energies to the different network topologies and defining the appropriate order parameters, we find a rich variety of topological phase transitions, defined as singular changes in the essential feature(s) of the global connectivity as a function of a parameter playing the role of the temperature. In the ``critical point'' scale-free networks can be recovered.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted, corrected and added reference

Cluster synchronization of diffusively-coupled nonlinear systems: A contraction based approach

Finding the conditions that foster synchronization in networked oscillatory systems is critical to understanding a wide range of biological and mechanical systems. However, the conditions proved in the literature for synchronization in nonlinear systems with linear coupling, such as has been used to model neuronal networks, are in general not strict enough to accurately determine the system behavior. We leverage contraction theory to derive new sufficient conditions for cluster synchronization in terms of the network structure, for a network where the intrinsic nonlinear dynamics of each node may differ. Our result requires that network connections satisfy a cluster-input-equivalence condition, and we explore the influence of this requirement on network dynamics. For application to networks of nodes with neuronal spiking dynamics, we show that our new sufficient condition is tighter than those found in previous analyses which used nonsmooth Lyapunov functions. Improving the analytical conditions for when cluster synchronization will occur based on network configuration is a significant step toward facilitating understanding and control of complex oscillatory systems