We derive a one-dimensional reduction for nonlinear dynamics on simplicial complexes containing both pairwise and triangular (higher-order) interactions. The effective state is defined using a mixed weight determined by the pairwise and triangular degrees of each node. The resulting reduced equation retains two structural coefficients, associated separately with the pairwise and higher-order coupling channels. A fluctuation expansion identifies the closure assumptions underlying the reduction and shows how deviations of individual node states from the effective state contribute to the approximation error. We numerically validate the proposed framework on Gene-regulatory dynamics, the double-well system, and SIS spreading. The states of the reduced model are compared with full-network simulations through coupling-parameter sweeps, steady-state branch calculations, and progressive node-removal experiments on synthetic and real-world networks. The reduced model successfully reproduces the principal transitions and steady-state branches in all three dynamical systems considered. Agreement is strongest for relatively homogeneous networks and deteriorates when structural heterogeneity produces a broader distribution of node states. The closure diagnostics account for this loss of accuracy and indicate when a single effective state is no longer sufficient. The reduction therefore provides a tractable description of resilience in systems with coexisting pairwise and higher-order interactions.
Low-dimensional reductions provide a useful framework for studying high-dimensional dynamics on complex networks, but most existing approaches are restricted to pairwise interactions. Here, we develop a one-dimensional reduction for dynamical systems on networks with purely higher-order interactions. The reduction is formulated through an effective higher-order interaction strength ($\beta_{\Delta}$), associated with the triangular interactions of the underlying network and the dynamical system's effective state. We present a theoretical framework for the dimension-reduction approach and validate it across three dynamical models with exclusively higher-order interactions. We find that the reduction accuracy is mainly determined by the homogeneity of node states, i.e., the deviations in state values become very small. Numerical results on synthetic and real networks show that the reduced model captures the effective steady states and transitions of the full system with good accuracy.
Complex networked systems are prevalent in biology, engineering, and the social sciences, yet their high-dimensional, nonlinear dynamics pose major challenges for analysis and prediction. A mathematically rigorous route to simplification is to represent system behavior on a low-dimensional, smooth invariant manifold known as a spectral submanifold (SSM). Here we present a comprehensive SSM reduction framework and its globalized extension (gSSM) for dimensionality reduction in large-scale nonlinear networks. Our approach yields accurate global and node-level predictions across synthetic and real networks, including highly heterogeneous topologies and systems with higher-order interactions. Crucially, SSM is a robust tipping-point predictor: even at low truncation order (e.g., $O(2)$) it reliably identifies the onset of sustained activity, while higher orders and gSSM capture post-onset amplitudes and saturation. Consistently, the reduction collapses the full network dynamics to a one-dimensional system, offering clarity and efficiency. Across all the realizations, SSM/gSSM consistently outperform classical spectral and mean-field methods in modeling critical transitions at both microscopic and macroscopic scales, establishing SSM-based reduction as a robust, interpretable tool for nonlinear networked systems with broad applicability to epidemiology, ecology, and engineered networks.
Susceptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) epidemic models on networks are governed by hierarchical moment equations where the dynamics of smaller subsystems depend on the state of larger ones. Moment closure approximations, which truncate this hierarchy by expressing higher-order state probabilities in terms of lower-order ones, are essential for obtaining tractable reduced systems. Higher-order networks, which extend the pairwise structure to include group interactions, introduce a combinatorial explosion of closure configurations, making systematic derivation harder. Consequently, existing higher-order SIS models are derived heuristically, where structural and dynamical assumptions underpinning their closures are not always apparent from the formulation alone. We develop a bottom-up derivation of higher-order SIS dynamics, building systematically from node-level equations to pairs, triplets, and three-body interactions. Central to our approach is a network-dependent closure operator that generates topologically appropriate approximations from local pairwise and triadic structure. Using this framework, we recover three existing higher-order SIS models--Burgio et al.'s maximal clique, Malizia et al.'s pair-based and inter-order models--as special cases, each arising under specific topological and dynamical assumptions. Our derivation reveals assumptions that are invisible from heuristic approaches: for instance, Malizia et al.'s inter-order overlap parameter is insufficient alone to express the model within our framework despite performing well against simulations, with the original derivation implicitly invoking additional structural assumptions. Our framework offers both a foundation for higher-order epidemic modeling and a constructive pathway for understanding the assumptions implicit in heuristically derived mean-field closures and provides a principled method of generating new models.
Kevin Teo, Péter L. Simon, I. Z. Kiss· 0 citations
Most complex systems, from the brain to ecosystems and multi-agent networks, display pairwise and higher-order interactions that determine their collective behavior. Yet, the regimes in which one interaction order dominate over another, and the mechanisms by which systems move between such regimes remain poorly understood analytically. Here, we consider a network of coupled Stuart-Landau oscillators on time-varying simplicial complexes, for which both pairwise and triplet interactions play a role in phase synchronization. We apply phase reduction and mean-field theory to obtain a reduced model that incorporates structural information through graph and Hodge Laplacians. This results in an analytic formula for a critical coupling surface that delineates regimes of dominance of pairwise- or triplet-mediated synchrony. To quantify how the prevailing synchronization mechanism changes over time, we define an interaction dominance index and investigate how slow modulation of coupling intensities gives rise to regime transitions between pairwise- and triplet-mediated synchrony. Our results provide a tractable framework for understanding how topology and time-dependent coupling jointly control regime switching in systems with coexisting interaction orders.
P. Tewarie, Steven Laureys, R. Hindriks· Chaos· 0 citations
Understanding large-scale neural network dynamics represents a fundamental challenge in both biological and artificial neural systems. Traditional pairwise interaction models inadequately capture the complex connectivity patterns observed in real neural networks, where groups of three or more neurons interact simultaneously. This paper presents a novel large-scale delayed neural network with dual-star architecture, incorporating both second-order and third-order interactions. Two analytical methods are employed to derive the characteristic polynomial for the proposed network: the Coates flow graph formula and the Schur complement method. Both approaches circumvent the computational intractability of conventional determinant-based methods for high-dimensional systems. Using the holistic element concept, rigorous conditions for local stability and Hopf bifurcation are established. Comprehensive numerical simulations validate theoretical findings and reveal that higher-order interactions exhibit non-monotonic effects on bifurcation thresholds, self-feedback mechanisms provide robust stabilization, and network size significantly influences bifurcation characteristics. Finally, the accurate function fitting achieved by our model provides new insights for the design and control of neural networks.
Yue Qiu, Min Xiao, Yonghui Sun et al.· Chaos· 0 citations
We establish a unified framework for exact dimensional reductions in network dynamical systems using Lie-Scheffers theory. For network dynamical systems with \emph{mean-field Lie-Scheffers structure}, we prove that networks of $n$ nodes with local dimension $d$ can be exactly reduced from $ n d $ dimensions to a fixed macroscopic system of dimension $ m d $, where $m$ is the number of fundamental solutions required by the nodal dynamics. Crucially, the superposition principle resulting from the Lie-algebraic structure allows the mean-field coupling to be expressed explicitly in terms of the macroscopic variables, yielding a \emph{closed} self-consistent system independent of network size. This reduction collapses the high-dimensional network flow onto invariant manifolds parameterized by $ \gamma = d(n-m) $ independent constants of motion. Our framework rigorously explains known reductions and provides a \emph{systematic method to discover new ones}. We illustrate the theory with ensembles of Riccati equations (encompassing the Kuramoto model and Theta neuron model), quasi-linear ODEs, and generalized Bernoulli equations, explicitly deriving the macroscopic flows and conserved quantities for each case.