Indirect Influences on Directed Manifolds

Abstract

We introduce a program aimed to studying problems arising from the theory of complex networks with differential geometric means. We study the propagation of influences on manifolds assuming that at each point only a finite number of propagation velocities are allowed. This leads to the computation of the volume of the moduli spaces of directed paths, i.e. paths satisfying the imposed tangential restrictions. The proposed settings provide a fertile ground for research with potential applications in geometry, mathematical physics, differential equations, and combinatorics. We establish the general framework, develop its structural properties, and consider a few basic examples of relevance. The interaction between differential geometry and complex networks is a new and promising field of study.