Abstract
Reaction network is a promising framework for representing complex systems of diverse and even interdisciplinary types. In this approach, complex systems appear as self-maintaining structures emerging from a multitude of interactions, similar to proposed scenarios for the origin of life out of autocatalytic networks. The formalism of chemical organization theory (COT) mathematically specifies under which conditions a reaction network is stable enough to be observed as a whole complex system. Such conditions specify the notion of organization, crucial in COT. In this paper, we show that the structure and operation of organizations can be advanced towards a formal framework of resilience in complex systems. That is, we show that there exist three fundamental types of change (state, process, and structural) defined for reaction networks, and that these perturbations not only provide a general representation of perturbations in the context of resilience but also pave the ground to formalize different forms of resilient responses. In particular, we show that decomposing the network’s operational structure into dynamically decoupled modules allows to formalize what is the impact of a perturbation and to what extent any potential compensation to that perturbation will be successful. We illustrate our approach with a toy model of a farm that operates in a sustainable way producing milk, eggs, and/or grains from other resources. With the help of simulations, we analyze the different types of perturbations and responses that the farm can undergo and how that affects its sustainable operation.
Highlights
An important challenge of our century is to understand the structural conditions under which systems become sustainable and resilient
The Middle East and North Africa’s (MENA) economy is largely relying for its energy on oil and other fossil fuels that are in limited supply and cannot be renewed [4]
We first elaborate on a deeper view of what a perturbation means by reviewing the different kinds of perturbations that exist, we review structural results on chemical organization theory (COT) which allow to link the different kinds of perturbations to the structure and stability of the reaction network, and we elaborate a qualitative dynamical analysis based on computational simulations of the perturbations and the dynamical responses of a toy-model reaction network
Summary
An important challenge of our century is to understand the structural conditions under which systems become sustainable and resilient. Creating a sustainable economy means shifting to resources that are renewable, either through a dependable external input (e.g., wind energy) or through recycling within the network (e.g., biofuel derived from plants grown and harvested by the system) [5]. While it is best known for physical resources, the challenge of sustainability applies to Complexity all systems, including social and informational. Complex systems should not just be able to maintain themselves in ideal circumstances; they should be able to return to self-maintenance when pushed away from this desired state by external challenges Such capacity for a system to recover efficiently from stressful circumstances is called resilience [6,7,8]. We study the effects of the different kinds of perturbations on the farm depending on the way it operates. is leads us to a formal framework for developing and assessing the success of potential mitigation strategies, represented as state, process, or structural counterperturbations
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
