Dynamica's research highlighted in Nature Physics

Dynamica’s latest contribution, led by PhD candidate Vincent Thibeault, has been published in Nature Physics. Our work critically examines the often implicit use of low-rank matrices in modeling complex systems, such as biological neural networks, through linear algebra and random matrix theory. Such simplification is not only shown to be widespread across various fields of research, but it is also empirically put to the test for over 600 real-world networks, revealing their low effective dimensionality. We demonstrate that our observations significantly impact the understanding of nonlinear dynamics, enabling optimal dimension reduction and the emergence of higher-order interactions, and thereby providing deeper insights into the mechanisms underlying complex phenomena.

Accompanying the publication, a News & Views piece within the same issue of Nature Physics discusses the implications and significance of our findings. Further extending the reach of our research, a news article on phys.org and a blog post by Manlio De Domenico have elaborated on the paper’s themes and relevance to current scientific inquiries into complex systems. In recognition of this work, Vincent has been invited to present at the Mathematical Institute of Oxford University and Northeastern University’s Network Science Institute (NetSI). Another notable achievement is the selection of the figure designed by Vincent and Myriam Thibeault for the front cover of the latest issue of Nature Physics.

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