arXiv subjects

Petter Minnhagen

Publications and source records attributed to Petter Minnhagen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2017

Benford's Law and First Letter of Word

A universal First-Letter Law (FLL) is derived and described. It predicts the percentages of first letters for words in novels. The FLL is akin to Benford's law (BL) of first digits, which predicts the percentages of first digits in a data collection of numbers. Both are universal in the sense that FLL only depends on the numbers of letters in the alphabet, whereas BL only depends on the number of digits in the base of the number system. The existence of these types of universal laws appears counter-intuitive. Nonetheless both describe data very well. Relations to some earlier works are given. FLL predicts that an English author on the average starts about 16 out of 100 words with the English letter `t'. This is corroborated by data, yet an author can freely write anything. Fuller implications and the applicability of FLL remain for the future.

cs.CL↗

arXiv2017

The Dependence of Frequency Distributions on Multiple Meanings of Words, Codes and Signs

The dependence of the frequency distributions due to multiple meanings of words in a text is investigated by deleting letters. By coding the words with fewer letters the number of meanings per coded word increases. This increase is measured and used as an input in a predictive theory. For a text written in English, the word-frequency distribution is broad and fat-tailed, whereas if the words are only represented by their first letter the distribution becomes exponential. Both distribution are well predicted by the theory, as is the whole sequence obtained by consecutively representing the words by the first L=6,5,4,3,2,1 letters. Comparisons of texts written by Chinese characters and the same texts written by letter-codes are made and the similarity of the corresponding frequency-distributions are interpreted as a consequence of the multiple meanings of Chinese characters. This further implies that the difference of the shape for word-frequencies for an English text written by letters and a Chinese text written by Chinese characters is due to the coding and not to the language per se.

cs.CL↗

arXiv2016

The likely determines the unlikely

We point out that the functional form describing the frequency of sizes of events in complex systems (e.g. earthquakes, forest fires, bursts of neuronal activity) can be obtained from maximal likelihood inference, which, remarkably, only involve a few available observed measures such as number of events, total event size and extremes. Most importantly, the method is able to predict with high accuracy the frequency of the rare extreme events. To be able to predict the few, often big impact events, from the frequent small events is of course of great general importance. For a data set of wind speed we are able to predict the frequency of gales with good precision. We analyse several examples ranging from the shortest length of a recruit to the number of Chinese characters which occur only once in a text.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2015

Randomness versus specifics for word-frequency distributions

The text-length-dependence of real word-frequency distributions can be connected to the general properties of a random book. It is pointed out that this finding has strong implications, when deciding between two conceptually different views on word-frequency distributions, i.e. the specific `Zipf's-view' and the non-specific `Randomness-view', as is discussed. It is also noticed that the text-length transformation of a random book does have an exact scaling property precisely for the power-law index $γ=1$, as opposed to the Zipf's exponent $γ=2$ and the implication of this exact scaling property is discussed. However a real text has $γ>1$ and as a consequence $γ$ increases when shortening a real text. The connections to the predictions from the RGF(Random Group Formation) and to the infinite length-limit of a meta-book are also discussed. The difference between `curve-fitting' and `predicting' word-frequency distributions is stressed. It is pointed out that the question of randomness versus specifics for the distribution of outcomes in case of sufficiently complex systems has a much wider relevance than just the word-frequency example analyzed in the present work.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2015

Maximum Entropy, Word-Frequency, Chinese Characters, and Multiple Meanings

The word-frequency distribution of a text written by an author is well accounted for by a maximum entropy distribution, the RGF (random group formation)-prediction. The RGF-distribution is completely determined by the a priori values of the total number of words in the text (M), the number of distinct words (N) and the number of repetitions of the most common word (k_max). It is here shown that this maximum entropy prediction also describes a text written in Chinese characters. In particular it is shown that although the same Chinese text written in words and Chinese characters have quite differently shaped distributions, they are nevertheless both well predicted by their respective three a priori characteristic values. It is pointed out that this is analogous to the change in the shape of the distribution when translating a given text to another language. Another consequence of the RGF-prediction is that taking a part of a long text will change the input parameters (M, N, k_max) and consequently also the shape of the frequency distribution. This is explicitly confirmed for texts written in Chinese characters. Since the RGF-prediction has no system-specific information beyond the three a priori values (M, N, k_max), any specific language characteristic has to be sought in systematic deviations from the RGF-prediction and the measured frequencies. One such systematic deviation is identified and, through a statistical information theoretical argument and an extended RGF-model, it is proposed that this deviation is caused by multiple meanings of Chinese characters. The effect is stronger for Chinese characters than for Chinese words. The relation between Zipf's law, the Simon-model for texts and the present results are discussed.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2013

Residual discrete symmetry of the five-state clock model

It is well-known that the $q$-state clock model can exhibit a Kosterlitz-Thouless (KT) transition if $q$ is equal to or greater than a certain threshold, which has been believed to be five. However, recent numerical studies indicate that helicity modulus does not vanish in the high-temperature phase of the five-state clock model as predicted by the KT scenario. By performing Monte Carlo calculations under the fluctuating twist boundary condition, we show that it is because the five-state clock model does not have the fully continuous U(1) symmetry even in the high-temperature phase while the six-state clock model does. We suggest that the upper transition of the five-state clock model is actually a weaker cousin of the KT transition so that it is $q \ge 6$ that exhibits the genuine KT behavior.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2013

Allometric Exponent and Randomness

An allometric height-mass exponent $γ$ gives an approximative power-law relation $< M> \propto H^γ$ between the average mass $< M>$ and the height $H$, for a sample of individuals. The individuals in the present study are humans but could be any biological organism. The sampling can be for a specific age of the individuals or for an age-interval. The body-mass index (BMI) is often used for practical purposes when characterizing humans and it is based on the allometric exponent $γ=2$. It is here shown that the actual value of $γ$ is to large extent determined by the degree of correlation between mass and height within the sample studied: no correlation between mass and height means $γ=0$, whereas if there was a precise relation between mass and height such that all individuals had the same shape and density then $γ=3$. The connection is demonstrated by showing that the value of $γ$ can be obtained directly from three numbers characterizing the spreads of the relevant random Gaussian statistical distributions: the spread of the height and mass distributions together with the spread of the mass distribution for the average height. Possible implications for allometric relations in general are discussed.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2012

Neutral theory of chemical reaction networks

To what extent do the characteristic features of a chemical reaction network reflect its purpose and function? In general, one argues that correlations between specific features and specific functions are key to understanding a complex structure. However, specific features may sometimes be neutral and uncorrelated with any system-specific purpose, function or causal chain. Such neutral features are caused by chance and randomness. Here we compare two classes of chemical networks: one that has been subjected to biological evolution (the chemical reaction network of metabolism in living cells) and one that has not (the atmospheric planetary chemical reaction networks). Their degree distributions are shown to share the very same neutral system-independent features. The shape of the broad distributions is to a large extent controlled by a single parameter, the network size. From this perspective, there is little difference between atmospheric and metabolic networks; they are just different sizes of the same random assembling network. In other words, the shape of the degree distribution is a neutral characteristic feature and has no functional or evolutionary implications in itself; it is not a matter of life and death.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2011

The Ten Thousand Kims

In the Korean culture the family members are recorded in special family books. This makes it possible to follow the distribution of Korean family names far back in history. It is here shown that these name distributions are well described by a simple null model, the random group formation (RGF) model. This model makes it possible to predict how the name distributions change and these predictions are shown to be borne out. In particular, the RGF model predicts that, for married women entering a collection of family books in a certain year, the occurrence of the most common family name "Kim" should be directly proportional the total number of married women with the same proportionality constant for all the years. This prediction is also borne out to high degree. We speculate that it reflects some inherent social stability in the Korean culture. In addition, we obtain an estimate of the total population of the Korean culture down to year 500 AD, based on the RGF model and find about ten thousand Kims.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2011

Ising model on a hyperbolic plane with a boundary

A hyperbolic plane can be modeled by a structure called the enhanced binary tree. We study the ferromagnetic Ising model on top of the enhanced binary tree using the renormalization-group analysis in combination with transfer-matrix calculations. We find a reasonable agreement with Monte Carlo calculations on the transition point, and the resulting critical exponents suggest the mean-field surface critical behavior.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2011

Synchronization in interdependent networks

We explore the synchronization behavior in interdependent systems, where the one-dimensional (1D) network (the intranetwork coupling strength $J_{\rm I}$) is ferromagnetically intercoupled (the strength $J$) to the Watts-Strogatz (WS) small-world network (the intranetwork coupling strength $J_{\rm II}$). In the absence of the internetwork coupling ($J = 0$), the former network is well known not to exhibit the synchronized phase at any finite coupling strength, whereas the latter displays the mean-field transition. Through an analytic approach based on the mean-field approximation, it is found that for the weakly coupled 1D network ($J_{\rm I} \ll 1$) the increase of $J$ suppresses synchrony, because the nonsynchronized 1D network becomes a heavier burden for the synchronization process of the WS network. As the coupling in the 1D network becomes stronger, it is revealed by the renormalization group (RG) argument that the synchronization is enhanced as $J_{\rm I}$ is increased, implying that the more enhanced partial synchronization in the 1D network makes the burden lighter. Extensive numerical simulations confirm these expected behaviors, while exhibiting a reentrant behavior in the intermediate range of $J_{\rm I}$. The nonmonotonic change of the critical value of $J_{\rm II}$ is also compared with the result from the numerical RG calculation.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2011

Critical temperatures of the three- and four-state Potts models on the kagome lattice

The value of the internal energy per spin is independent of the strip width for a certain class of spin systems on two dimensional infinite strips. It is verified that the Ising model on the kagome lattice belongs to this class through an exact transfer-matrix calculation of the internal energy for the two smallest widths. More generally, one can suggest an upper bound for the critical coupling strength $K_c(q)$ for the $q$-state Potts model from exact calculations of the internal energy for the two smallest strip widths. Combining this with the corresponding calculation for the dual lattice and using an exact duality relation enables us to conjecture the critical coupling strengths for the three- and four-state Potts models on the kagome lattice. The values are $K_c(q=3)=1.056~509~426~929~0$ and $K_c(q=4) = 1.149~360~587~229~2$, and the values can, in principle, be obtained to an arbitrary precision. We discuss the fact that these values are in the middle of earlier approximate results and furthermore differ from earlier conjectures for the exact values.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2011

Hierarchical renormalization-group study on the planar bond-percolation problem

For certain hierarchical structures, one can study the percolation problem using the renormalization-group method in a very precise way. We show that the idea can be also applied to two-dimensional planar lattices by regarding them as hierarchical structures. Either a lower bound or an exact critical probability can be obtained with this method and the correlation-length critical exponent is approximately estimated as $ν\approx 1$.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2011

Zipf's law unzipped

Why does Zipf's law give a good description of data from seemingly completely unrelated phenomena? Here it is argued that the reason is that they can all be described as outcomes of a ubiquitous random group division: the elements can be citizens of a country and the groups family names, or the elements can be all the words making up a novel and the groups the unique words, or the elements could be inhabitants and the groups the cities in a country, and so on. A Random Group Formation (RGF) is presented from which a Bayesian estimate is obtained based on minimal information: it provides the best prediction for the number of groups with $k$ elements, given the total number of elements, groups, and the number of elements in the largest group. For each specification of these three values, the RGF predicts a unique group distribution $N(k)\propto \exp(-bk)/k^γ$, where the power-law index $γ$ is a unique function of the same three values. The universality of the result is made possible by the fact that no system specific assumptions are made about the mechanism responsible for the group division. The direct relation between $γ$ and the total number of elements, groups, and the number of elements in the largest group, is calculated. The predictive power of the RGF model is demonstrated by direct comparison with data from a variety of systems. It is shown that $γ$ usually takes values in the interval $1\leqγ\leq 2$ and that the value for a given phenomena depends in a systematic way on the total size of the data set. The results are put in the context of earlier discussions on Zipf's and Gibrat's laws, $N(k)\propto k^{-2}$ and the connection between growth models and RGF is elucidated.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2011

Kosterlitz-Thouless transition of magnetic dipoles on the two-dimensional plane

The universality class of a phase transition is often determined by factors like dimensionality and inherent symmetry. We study the magnetic dipole system in which the ground-state symmetry and the underlying lattice structure are coupled to each other in an intricate way. A two-dimensional (2D) square-lattice system of magnetic dipoles undergoes an order-disorder phase transition belonging to the 2D Ising universality class. According to Prakash and Henley [Phys. Rev. B {\bf 42}, 6572 (1990)], this can be related to the fourfold-symmetric ground states which suggests a similarity to the four-state clock model. Provided that this type of symmetry connection holds true, the magnetic dipoles on a honeycomb lattice, which possess sixfold-symmetric ground states, should exhibit a Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in accordance with the six-state clock model. This is verified through numerical simulations in the present investigation. However, it is pointed out that this symmetry argument does not always apply, which suggests that factors other than symmetry can be decisive for the universality class of the magnetic dipole system.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2011

A Paradoxical Property of the Monkey Book

A "monkey book" is a book consisting of a random distribution of letters and blanks, where a group of letters surrounded by two blanks is defined as a word. We compare the statistics of the word distribution for a monkey book with the corresponding distribution for the general class of random books, where the latter are books for which the words are randomly distributed. It is shown that the word distribution statistics for the monkey book is different and quite distinct from a typical sampled book or real book. In particular the monkey book obeys Heaps' power law to an extraordinary good approximation, in contrast to the word distributions for sampled and real books, which deviate from Heaps' law in a characteristics way. The somewhat counter-intuitive conclusion is that a "monkey book" obeys Heaps' power law precisely because its word-frequency distribution is not a smooth power law, contrary to the expectation based on simple mathematical arguments that if one is a power law, so is the other.

physics.data-an↗

arXiv2011

Bounds of percolation thresholds in the enhanced binary tree

By studying its subgraphs, it is argued that the lower critical percolation threshold of the enhanced binary tree (EBT) is bounded as $p_{c1} < 0.355059$, while the upper threshold is bounded both from above and below by 1/2 according to renormalization-group arguments. We also review a correlation analysis in an earlier work, which claimed a significantly higher estimate of $p_{c2}$ than 1/2, to show that this analysis in fact gives a consistent result with this bound. Our result confirms that the duality relation between critical thresholds does not hold exactly for the EBT and its dual, possibly due to the lack of transitivity.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2010

Selective pressure on metabolic network structures as measured from the random blind-watchmaker network

A random null model termed the Blind Watchmaker network (BW) has been shown to reproduce the degree distribution found in metabolic networks. This might suggest that natural selection has had little influence on this particular network property. We here investigate to what extent other structural network properties have evolved under selective pressure from the corresponding ones of the random null model: The clustering coefficient and the assortativity measures are chosen and it is found that these measures for the metabolic network structure are close enough to the BW-network so as to fit inside its reachable random phase space. It is furthermore shown that the use of this null model indicates an evolutionary pressure towards low assortativity and that this pressure is stronger for larger networks. It is also shown that selecting for BW networks with low assortativity causes the BW degree distribution to slightly deviate from its power-law shape in the same way as the metabolic networks. This implies that an equilibrium model with fluctuating degree distribution is more suitable as a null model, when identifying selective pressures, than a randomized counterpart with fixed degree sequence, since the overall degree sequence itself can change under selective pressure on other global network properties.

physics.bio-ph↗