arXiv subjects

Stefan Müller

Publications and source records attributed to Stefan Müller.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Disguised complex balance via positive algebraic geometry

We study dynamical systems arising from reaction networks under mass-action kinetics. For certain choices of the rate constants (parameters), such systems are complex-balanced (vertex-balanced), which guarantees the existence of a unique positive equilibrium. Moreover, this equilibrium is asymptotically stable (admitting a global Lyapunov function) and linearly stable. In a series of recent papers, Craciun and collaborators introduced and studied disguised complex-balanced systems, that is, mass-action systems that are dynamically equal to auxiliary complex-balanced systems and therefore inherit their strong stability properties. Determining the parameter values for which a given system is disguised complex-balanced is a nontrivial algebraic problem. In this work, we show that the defining conditions for disguised complex-balanced equilibria naturally give rise to parametrized systems of polynomial inequalities. Using the framework for positive algebraic geometry developed by Müller and Regensburger, we reformulate these systems as binomial equations (on the disguised complex-balanced flux cone). Computing the disguised complex-balanced parameter locus can be viewed as a quantifier-elimination problem, and our approach eliminates the concentrations (state variables) from the problem. We illustrate our results using the running example of a recent paper by Boros et al.

math.DS↗

arXiv2026

Decomposable and essentially univariate mass-action systems: Extensions of the deficiency one theorem

The classical and extended deficiency one theorems by Feinberg apply to reaction networks with mass-action kinetics that have independent linkage classes or subnetworks, each with a deficiency of at most one and exactly one absorbing strong component. The theorems assume the existence of a positive equilibrium and guarantee the existence of a unique positive equilibrium in every stoichiometric compatibility class. In our work, we use the $\textit{monomial dependency}$ which extends the concept of deficiency. First, we provide a dependency one theorem for parametrized systems of polynomial equations that are essentially univariate and decomposable. As our main result, we present a corresponding theorem for mass-action systems, which permits subnetworks with arbitrary deficiency and arbitrary number of absorbing strong components. Finally, to complete the picture, we derive the extended deficiency one theorem as a special case of our more general dependency one theorem.

math.DS↗

arXiv2026

Existence of a unique, nondegenerate solution to parametrized systems of generalized polynomial equations

We consider parametrized systems of generalized polynomial equations (with real exponents) in $n$ positive variables, involving $m$ monomials with positive parameters; that is, $x\in\mathbb{R}^n_>$ such that ${A \, (c \circ x^B)=0}$ with coefficient matrix $A\in\mathbb{R}^{l \times m}$, exponent matrix $B\in\mathbb{R}^{n \times m}$, parameter vector $c\in\mathbb{R}^m_>$ (and componentwise product $\circ$). Our main result characterizes the existence of a unique, nondegenerate solution (up to an exponential manifold) for all parameters in terms of the relevant geometric objects of the polynomial system: the $\textit{coefficient polytope}$ and the $\textit{monomial dependency subspace}$. Technically, we show that unique existence of a nondegenerate solution is equivalent to a composite (monomial-exponential moment) map being a diffeomorphism, and we characterize this property using Hadamard's global inversion theorem. Additionally, we provide sufficient conditions in terms of sign vectors of the geometric objects, which represent a genuine multivariate generalization of Descartes' rule of signs for exactly one solution. Finally, we illustrate all objects and results in a concrete example.

math.AG↗

arXiv2026

Sobolev mappings of Euclidean space and product structure

We consider bounded open connected sets $Ω_1, Ω_2 \subset \mathbb{R}^n$ and Sobolev maps $f: Ω_1 \times Ω_2 \subset \mathbb{R}^n \times \mathbb{R}^n$, such that for almost every $x \in Ω_1 \times Ω_2$ the weak differential $\nabla f(x)$ is invertible and preserves or swaps the spaces $\mathbb{R}^n \times \{0\}$ and $\{0\} \times \mathbb{R}^n$. We show that if $n \ge 2$ and $f \in W^{1,2}$ then $f$ is split, i.e., $f(x_1, x_2) = (f_1(x_1), f_2(x_2))$ or $f(x_1, x_2) = (f_2(x_2), f_1(x_1))$. We also show that this conclusion fails in general for $n=1$, even if we assume in addition that $f$ is bi-Lipschitz and area preserving. These results complement our previous work https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.20265, where we showed that the conclusion fails for $n \ge 2$ if the Sobolev space $W^{1,2}$ is replaced by $W^{1,p}$ for any $p < 2$. We also discuss results for approximately split maps, i.e. for sequences of maps $f_k$ such that $\nabla f_k$ approaches the set of linear invertible split maps in suitable $L^p$ spaces. This work is partly motivated by the question whether Sobolev maps defined on products of Carnot groups are split.

math.AP↗

arXiv2025

Non-Euclidean elasticity for rods and almost isometric embeddings of geodesic tubes

We consider a geodesic $γ$ of length $2L$ in an oriented Riemannian manifold $(\mathcal M, g)$ and a thin tube $Ω^*_h$ around $γ$ of radius $h$. We study an 'elastic' energy per unit volume $E_h(u)$ of maps $u$ from $Ω^*_h$ into another oriented Riemannian manifold $(\tilde {\mathcal M},\tilde g)$. The energy $E_h$ is based on the squared distance of the differentials $du$ from the set of orientation preserving linear maps between the corresponding tangent spaces. We prove a compactness result for sequences of maps $u_h$ for which $h^{-4} E_h(u_h)$ remains bounded and we study the $Γ$-Limit of $h^{-4} E_h(u_h)$ as $h \to 0$ with respect to a suitable notion of convergence for $u_h$ that involves certain blow-ups in the radial direction. This $Γ$-convergence result ge\-ne\-ra\-lizes work by Mora and Müller on the limiting energy of thin rods in the Euclidean setting. We also obtain an expression for the minimum of the limiting energy as a specific quadratic functional in the difference of the pullbacks of the curvature tensors of $\mathcal M$ and $\tilde{\mathcal M}$ along the curves $γ$ and $u \circ γ$, respectively, thus answering a question by Maor and Shachar, J. Elasticity 134 (2019), pp. 149--173.

math.AP↗

arXiv2025

Gender and Discipline Shape Length, Content and Tone of Grant Peer Review Reports

Peer review by experts is central to the evaluation of grant proposals, but little is known about how gender and disciplinary differences shape the content and tone of grant peer review reports. We analyzed 39,280 review reports submitted to the Swiss National Science Foundation between 2016 and 2023, covering 11,385 proposals for project funding across 21 disciplines from the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH), Life Sciences (LS), and Mathematics, Informatics, Natural Sciences, and Technology (MINT). Using supervised machine learning, we classified over 1.3 million sentences by evaluation criteria and sentiment. Reviews in SSH were significantly longer and more critical, with less focus on the applicant's track record, while those in MINT were more concise and positive, with a higher focus on the track record, as compared to those in LS. Compared to male reviewers, female reviewers write longer reviews that more closely align with the evaluation criteria and express more positive sentiments. Female applicants tend to receive reviews with slightly more positive sentiment than male applicants. Gender and disciplinary culture influence how grant proposals are reviewed - shaping the tone, length, and focus of peer review reports. These differences have important implications for fairness and consistency in research funding.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2024

A Supervised Machine Learning Approach for Assessing Grant Peer Review Reports

Peer review in grant evaluation informs funding decisions, but the contents of peer review reports are rarely analyzed. In this work, we develop a thoroughly tested pipeline to analyze the texts of grant peer review reports using methods from applied Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning. We start by developing twelve categories reflecting content of grant peer review reports that are of interest to research funders. This is followed by multiple human annotators' iterative annotation of these categories in a novel text corpus of grant peer review reports submitted to the Swiss National Science Foundation. After validating the human annotation, we use the annotated texts to fine-tune pre-trained transformer models to classify these categories at scale, while conducting several robustness and validation checks. Our results show that many categories can be reliably identified by human annotators and machine learning approaches. However, the choice of text classification approach considerably influences the classification performance. We also find a high correspondence between out-of-sample classification performance and human annotators' perceived difficulty in identifying categories. Our results and publicly available fine-tuned transformer models will allow researchers and research funders and anybody interested in peer review to examine and report on the contents of these reports in a structured manner. Ultimately, we hope our approach can contribute to ensuring the quality and trustworthiness of grant peer review.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2024

Parametrized systems of generalized polynomial equations: first applications to fewnomials

We consider positive solutions to parametrized systems of generalized polynomial equations (with real exponents and positive parameters). By a fundamental result obtained in parallel work, polynomial systems are determined by geometric objects, rather than matrices: a polytope $P$ (arising from the coefficient matrix) and two subspaces representing monomial differences and dependencies (arising from the exponent matrix). The dimension of the latter subspace, the monomial dependency $d$, is crucial. Indeed, we rewrite $\textit{polynomial}$ equations in terms of $d$ $\textit{binomial}$ equations on the coefficient polytope $P$, involving $d$ monomials in the parameters. We further study the solution set on $P$ using methods from analysis such as sign-characteristic functions and Wronskians. In this work, we present first applications to fewnomial systems through five (classes of) examples. In particular, we study (i) $n$ trinomials involving ${n+2}$ monomials in $n$ variables, having dependency $d=1$, and (ii) one trinomial and one $t$-nomial (with $t\ge3$) in two variables, having $d=t-1\ge2$. For (i), we bound the number of positive solutions using the number of roots of a univariate polynomial of degree at most $n$. We also show that this number is always less than or equal to the number of sign changes in an optimal Descartes' rule given in Bihan et al. (2021). For (ii), we improve upper bounds given in Li et al. (2003) and Koiran et al. (2015). Further, for two trinomials ($t=3$), we refine the known upper bound of five in terms of the exponents, and we find an example with five positive solutions that is even simpler than the smallest "Haas system".

math.AG↗

arXiv2024

Parametrized systems of generalized polynomial inequalitites via linear algebra and convex geometry

We provide fundamental results on positive solutions to parametrized systems of generalized polynomial $\textit{inequalities}$ (with real exponents and positive parameters), including generalized polynomial $\textit{equations}$. In doing so, we also offer a new perspective on fewnomials and (generalized) mass-action systems. We find that geometric objects, rather than matrices, determine generalized polynomial systems: a bounded set/"polytope" $P$ (arising from the coefficient matrix) and two subspaces representing monomial differences and dependencies (arising from the exponent matrix). The dimension of the latter subspace, the monomial dependency $d$, is crucial. As our main result, we rewrite $\textit{polynomial inequalities}$ in terms of $d$ $\textit{binomial equations}$ on $P$, involving $d$ monomials in the parameters. In particular, we establish an explicit bijection between the original solution set and the solution set on $P$ via exponentiation. (i) Our results apply to any generalized polynomial system. (ii) The dependency $d$ and the dimension of $P$ indicate the complexity of a system. (iii) Our results are based on methods from linear algebra and convex/polyhedral geometry, and the solution set on $P$ can be further studied using methods from analysis such as sign-characteristic functions (introduced in this work). We illustrate our results (in particular, the relevant geometric objects) through three examples from real fewnomial and reaction network theory. For two mass-action systems, we parametrize the set of equilibria and the region for multistationarity, respectively, and even for univariate trinomials, we offer new insights: We provide a "solution formula" involving discriminants and "roots".

math.AG↗

arXiv2024

A SageMath Package for Elementary and Sign Vectors with Applications to Chemical Reaction Networks

We present our SageMath package elementary_vectors for computing elementary and sign vectors of real subspaces. In this setting, elementary vectors are support-minimal vectors that can be determined from maximal minors of a real matrix representing a subspace. By applying the sign function, we obtain the cocircuits of the corresponding oriented matroid, which in turn allow the computation of all sign vectors of a real subspace. As an application, we discuss sign vector conditions for existence and uniqueness of complex-balanced equilibria of chemical reaction networks with generalized mass-action kinetics. The conditions are formulated in terms of sign vectors of two subspaces arising from the stoichiometric coefficients and the kinetic orders of the reactions. We discuss how these conditions can be checked algorithmically, and we demonstrate the functionality of our package sign_vector_conditions in several examples.

cs.SC↗

arXiv2024

Cauchy-Born Rule from Microscopic Models with Non-convex Potentials

We study gradient field models on an integer lattice with non-convex interactions. These models emerge in distinct branches of physics and mathematics under various names. In particular, as zero-mass lattice (Euclidean) quantum field theory, models of random interfaces, and as mass-string models of nonlinear elasticity.Our attention is mostly devoted to the latter with random vector valued fields as displacements for atoms of crystal structures,where our aim is to prove the strict convexity of the free energy as a function of affine deformations for low enough temperatures and small enough deformations. This claim can be interpreted as a form of verification of the Cauchy-Born rule at small non-vanishing temperatures for a class of these models. We also show that the scaling limit of the Laplace transform of the corresponding Gibbs measure (under a proper rescaling) corresponds to the Gaussian gradient field with a particular covariance. The proofs are based on a multi-scale (renormalisation group analysis) techniques needed in view of strong correlations of studied gradient fields. To cover sufficiently wide class of models, we extend these techniques from the standard case with rotationally symmetric nearest neighbour interaction to a more general situation with finite range interactions without any symmetry. Our presentation is entirely self-contained covering the details of the needed renormalisation group methods.

math-ph↗

arXiv2024

Rigidity of Euclidean product structure: breakdown for low Sobolev exponents

We develop a general toolbox to study $W^{1,p}$ solutions of differential inclusions $\nabla u \in K$ for unbounded sets $K$. A key notion is the concept that a subset $K$ of the space $\mathbb{R}^{d \times m}$ of $d \times m$ matrices can be reduced to another set $K'$. We then use this framework to show that the product rigidity for Sobolev maps fails for $p<2$, and also apply our toolbox to simplify several examples from the literature.

math.AP↗

arXiv2024

Optimal rigidity estimates for maps of a compact Riemannian manifold to itself

Let $M$ be a smooth, compact, connected, oriented Riemannian manifold, and let $\imath: M \to \mathbb R^d$ be an isometric embedding. We show that a Sobolev map $f: M \to M$ which has the property that the differential $df(q)$ is close to the set $SO(T_q M, T_{f(q)} M)$ of orientation preserving isometries (in an $L^p$ sense) is already $W^{1,p}$ close to a global isometry of $M$. More precisely we prove for $p \in (1,\infty)$ the optimal linear estimate $$\inf_{ϕ\in \mathrm{Isom}_+(M)} \| \imath \circ f - \imath \circ ϕ\|_{W^{1,p}}^p \le C E_p(f)$$ where $$ E_p(f) := \int_M {\rm dist}^p(df(q), SO(T_q M, T_{f(q)} M)) \, d{\rm vol}_M$$ and where $\mathrm{Isom}_+(M)$ denotes the group of orientation preserving isometries of $M$. This extends the Euclidean rigidity estimate of Friesecke-James-Müller [Comm. Pure Appl. Math. {\bf 55} (2002), 1461--1506] to Riemannian manifolds. It also extends the Riemannian stability result of Kupferman-Maor-Shachar [Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. {\bf 231} (2019), 367--408] for sequences of maps with $E_p(f_k) \to 0$ to an optimal quantitative estimate. The proof relies on the weak Riemannian Piola identity of Kupferman-Maor-Shachar, a uniform $C^{1,α}$ approximation through the harmonic map heat flow, and a linearization argument which reduces the estimate to the well-known Riemannian version of Korn's inequality.

math.AP↗

arXiv2023

Every atom-atom map can be explained by electron pushing diagrams

Chemical reactions can be understood as transformations of multigraphs (molecules) that preserve vertex labels (atoms) and degrees (sums of bonding and non-bonding electrons), thereby implying the atom-atom map of a reaction. The corresponding reaction mechanism is often described by an electron pushing diagram that explains the transformation by consecutive local relocations of invidudal edges (electron pairs). Here, we show that every degree-preserving map between multigraphs, and thus every atom-atom map, can be generated by cyclic electron pushing. Moreover, it is always possible to decompose such an explanation into electron pushing diagrams involving only four electron pairs. This in turn implies that every reaction can be decomposed into a sequence of elementary reactions that involve at most two educt molecules and two product molecules. Hence, the requirement of a mechanistic explantion in terms of electron pushing and small imaginary transition states does not impose a combinatorial constraint on the feasibility of hypothetical chemical reactions.

math.CO↗

arXiv2023

Sufficient conditions for linear stability of complex-balanced equilibria in generalized mass-action systems

Generalized mass-action systems are power-law dynamical systems arising from chemical reaction networks. Essentially, every nonnegative ODE model used in chemistry and biology (for example, in ecology and epidemiology) and even in economics and engineering can be written in this form. Previous results have focused on existence and uniqueness of special steady states (complex-balanced equilibria) for all rate constants, thereby ruling out multiple (special) steady states. Recently, necessary conditions for linear stability have been obtained. In this work, we provide sufficient conditions for the linear stability of complex-balanced equilibria for all rate constants (and also for the non-existence of other steady states). In particular, via sign-vector conditions (on the stoichiometric coefficients and kinetic orders), we guarantee that the Jacobian matrix is a $P$-matrix. Technically, we use a new decomposition of the graph Laplacian which allows to consider orders of (generalized) monomials. Alternatively, we use cycle decomposition which allows a linear parametrization of all Jacobian matrices. In any case, we guarantee stability without explicit computation of steady states. We illustrate our results in examples from chemistry and biology: generalized Lotka-Volterra systems and SIR models, a two-component signaling system, and an enzymatic futile cycle.

math.DS↗

arXiv2023

A new decomposition of the graph Laplacian and the binomial structure of mass-action systems

We provide a new decomposition of the Laplacian matrix (for labeled directed graphs with strongly connected components), involving an invertible $\textit{core matrix}$, the vector of tree constants, and the incidence matrix of an auxiliary graph, representing an order on the vertices. Depending on the particular order, the core matrix has additional properties. Our results are graph-theoretic/algebraic in nature. As a first application, we further clarify the binomial structure of (weakly reversible) mass-action systems, arising from chemical reaction networks. Second, we extend a classical result by Horn and Jackson on the asymptotic stability of special steady states (complex-balanced equilibria). Here, the new decomposition of the graph Laplacian allows us to consider regions in the positive orthant with given $\textit{monomial evaluation orders}$ (and corresponding polyhedral cones in logarithmic coordinates). As it turns out, all dynamical systems are asymptotically stable that can be embedded in certain $\textit{binomial differential inclusions}$. In particular, this holds for complex-balanced mass-action systems, and hence we also obtain a polyhedral-geometry proof of the classical result.

math.CO↗

arXiv2023

The P$^3$ Experiment: A Positron Source Demonstrator for Future Lepton Colliders

The PSI Positron Production (P$^3$ or P-cubed) experiment is a demonstrator for a e+ source and capture system with potential to improve the state-of-the-art e+ yield by an order of magnitude. The experiment is driven by the FCC-ee injector study and will be hosted in the SwissFEL facility at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland. This paper is an overview of the P$^3$ design at an advanced stage, with a particular emphasis on a novel e+ capture system and its associated beam dynamics. Additionally, a concept for the experiment diagnostics is presented, as well as the key points of the ongoing installation works.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2022

Scaling of the elastic energy of small balls for maps between manifolds with different curvature tensors

Motivated by experiments and formal asymptotic expansions in the physics literature, Maor and Shachar (J. Elasticity 134 (2019), 149-173) studied the behaviour of a model elastic energy of maps between manifolds with incompatible metrics. For thin objects they analysed the scaling of the minimal elastic energy as a function of the thickness. In particular they showed that for maps from a ball of radius h in an oriented Riemannian manifold to Euclidean space, the infimum of a model elastic energy per unit volume scales like the fourth power of h and after rescaling one gets convergence to a quadratic expression in the curvature tensor R(p), where p denotes the centre of the ball. In this paper we show the same result for general compact oriented Riemannian targets with R(p) replaced by a suitable difference of the curvature tensors in the target and the domain, thus answering Open Question 1 in the paper by Maor and Shachar. The result extends noncompact targets provided they satisfy a uniform regularity condition. A key idea in the proof is to use Lipschitz approximations to define a suitable notion of convergence.

math.AP↗