Dresden 2026 – scientific programme
Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help
DY: Fachverband Dynamik und Statistische Physik
DY 51: Networks: From Topology to Dynamics – Part III (joint session DY/SOE)
DY 51.5: Talk
Thursday, March 12, 2026, 12:15–12:30, ZEU/0118
Elucidating structure-function relationships in physical networks via ensnarlment — •Yu Tian1,2,3,4, Chinmayi Subramanya1,3,4, and Carl Modes1,3,4 — 1Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Dresden, Germany — 2Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems — 3Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics — 4Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany
Understanding physical networks -- whose structure is constrained by the physical properties of their nodes and links -- is a growing interdisciplinary challenge, especially in biological systems. Physical constraints such as volume exclusion and non-crossing conditions, along with biological functionality, can drive these networks into non-optimal spatial configurations. One prominent feature is that cycles may go through each other's interior space, which may not be unraveled without removing edges, leading to an ensnarled state. Characterizing the ensnarlment in the space, and its interplay with the functional behaviours of the network, is essential for revealing structure-function relationships in such systems. In this work, we introduce a graph-theoretic framework based on the linking operator, obtained by the Gauss linking integral applied to the cycles in the network. This approach enables a multiscale analysis of entanglement, spanning local, intermediate, and global structures. Our goal is to reveal how topological complexity shapes, and is shaped by, biological functions, providing new insights into the organizational principles of physical and biological networks.
Keywords: Physical Networks; Incomplete Linking; Network Metrics; Spatial Networks