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arXiv · 1905.02629

Random Self-Similar Trees: A mathematical theory of Horton laws

Yevgeniy Kovchegov·Ilya Zaliapin
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Abstract

The Horton laws originated in hydrology with a 1945 paper by Robert E. Horton, and for a long time remained a purely empirical finding. Ubiquitous in hierarchical branching systems, the Horton laws have been rediscovered in many disciplines ranging from geomorphology to genetics to computer science. Attempts to build a mathematical foundation behind the Horton laws during the 1990s revealed their close connection to the operation of pruning -- erasing a tree from the leaves down to the root. This survey synthesizes recent results on invariances and self-similarities of tree measures under various forms of pruning. We argue that pruning is an indispensable instrument for describing branching structures and representing a variety of coalescent and annihilation dynamics. The Horton laws appear as a characteristic imprint of self-similarity, which settles some questions prompted by geophysical data.

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Yevgeniy Kovchegov, Ilya Zaliapin. 2019-05-07. Random Self-Similar Trees: A mathematical theory of Horton laws. https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.02629

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