physics.soc-ph papers | Gist.Science

Capability Thresholds and Manufacturing Topology: How Embodied Intelligence Triggers Phase Transitions in Economic Geography

This paper argues that as embodied AI crosses critical thresholds in dexterity, generalization, and reliability, it will trigger a phase transition in economic geography by dismantling the century-old Fordist paradigm of centralized mega-factories and replacing labor-driven site selection with a new topology defined by demand-proximal micro-manufacturing and machine-optimal environmental conditions.

Xinmin Fang, Lingfeng Tao, Zhengxiong Li2026-03-06🔬 physics

Settlement percolation: global maps of Critical Distances

This paper introduces the Global Settlement Percolation (GSP) dataset, which characterizes global settlement configurations by quantifying the critical distance at which isolated settlements merge into a single cluster across various spatial scales to provide an independent measure of connectivity for urban, economic, and ecological research.

Martin Schorcht, Martin Behnisch, Larissa T. Beumer + 6 more2026-03-06🔬 physics

Balancing the Byline: Exploring Gender and Authorship Patterns in Canadian Science Publishing Journals

An analysis of over 67,000 articles from 24 Canadian Science Publishing journals between 2010 and 2021 reveals that women remain underrepresented as authors, particularly in leadership roles and engineering fields, with disparities likely stemming from broader workforce inequalities rather than publication bias.

Eden J. Hennessey, Amanda Desnoyers, Margaret Christ + 6 more2026-03-06🔬 physics

An Extensive Study of Two-Node McCulloch-Pitts Networks

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the dynamical behaviors, classification, and various forms of stability for all 39 possible two-node McCulloch-Pitts networks with self-loops and ternary weights, highlighting how model variants, value encodings, and regulatory structures fundamentally influence system dynamics and robustness.

Wentian Li, Astero Provata, Thomas MacCarthy2026-03-06🔬 physics

Graphs are focal hypergraphs: strict containment in higher-order interaction dynamics

This paper establishes a strict hierarchy where graph dynamical models are a special case of focal hypergraph models, which in turn are a subset of general hypergraph models, demonstrating that the choice between these formalisms should be determined by the specific nature of interactions (focal versus non-focal) rather than a preference for one framework.

Elkaïoum M. Moutuou2026-03-05🔬 physics

To trace or not to trace: analytical insights from network-based contact-tracing models

This paper presents a unified analytical framework that relaxes restrictive assumptions in contact-tracing models by incorporating partial treatment compliance and triplewise tracing mechanisms, thereby deriving rigorous epidemic threshold conditions that reveal how bypassed treatment can render outbreaks uncontrollable.

Giulia de Meijere, Andrea Pugliese, Gerardo Iñiguez + 2 more2026-03-05🔬 physics

The SIS Competition Model for Conflicting Rumors

This paper proposes an SIS competition model for conflicting rumors that reveals a novel coexistence mechanism where belief in one rumor paradoxically aids the other, leading to counterintuitive outcomes such as lower infection rates enhancing spread and the spontaneous emergence of majority advantage despite the absence of explicit conformity rules.

Yu Takiguchi, Koji Nemoto2026-03-05🔬 physics

The Evolution of Eco-routing under Population Growth: Evidence from Six U.S. Cities

This study analyzes the long-term effectiveness of eco-routing under population growth in six U.S. cities, revealing that while emissions scale superlinearly with population and eco-routing creates carbon bottlenecks, targeted capacity expansion on these critical links significantly reduces both emissions and travel time without compromising routing efficiency.

Zhiheng Shi, Xiaohan Xu, Wei Ma + 2 more2026-03-05🔬 physics

Open-source benchmarking of plant-based and animal meats

This large-scale, open-source study reveals that while plant-based meats generally lag behind animal benchmarks in overall consumer liking, specific categories like unbreaded chicken filets, nuggets, and burgers have achieved near-parity in taste and texture, with sensory attributes such as savoriness and juiciness identified as key drivers of consumer preference.

Sybren D van den Bedem, Ellen Kuhl, Caroline Cotto2026-03-05🔬 physics

Localisation and Circularity in Apple Supply Chains: An Algorithmic Exploration

This paper presents a weighted-sum mixed-integer linear programming model to optimize the UK apple supply chain by balancing economic and sustainability objectives—specifically price, quantity, freshness, and distance—to enhance localisation and circularity while reducing waste and emissions.

Baraa Alabdulwahab, Ruzanna Chitchyan2026-03-05🔬 physics

Projective limits of probabilistic symmetries and their applications to random graph limits

This paper establishes a unified framework linking projective limits of probability measures to direct limits of their symmetry groups, demonstrating how this connection characterizes the symmetries of infinite point processes and provides a streamlined derivation of random graph limits, including graphons, graphexes, and models with bounded average degrees.

Pim van der Hoorn, Huck Stepanyants, Dmitri Krioukov2026-03-05🔬 physics

Relationship between household attributes and contact patterns in urban and rural South Africa

This study utilizes wearable sensor data from rural and urban South African villages to demonstrate that household contact patterns, which are critical for infectious disease modeling, vary significantly based on household composition, the gender of the household head, and seasonal context.

Kausutua Tjikundi, Jackie Kleynhans, Stefano Tempia + 4 more2026-03-05🔬 physics

Exploring blazars through sonification. Visual and auditory insights into multifrequency variability

This study utilizes open multifrequency astronomical data to construct visual and auditory representations of nine blazars via MIDI and Parameter Mapping Sonification, demonstrating how this multimodal approach effectively reveals variability patterns and promotes inclusive scientific communication.

Gustavo Magallanes-Guijón, Sergio Mendoza2026-03-05🔭 astro-ph

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