Dynamical Properties of Random Boolean Hypernetworks

Abstract

Boolean networks are a valuable class of discrete dynamical systems models, but they remain fundamentally limited by their inability to capture multi-way interactions in their components. To remedy this limitation, we propose a model of Boolean hypernetworks, which generalize standard Boolean networks. Utilizing the bijection between hypernetworks and bipartite networks, we show how Boolean hypernetworks generalize standard Boolean networks. We derive ensembles of Boolean hypernetworks from standard random Boolean networks and simulate the dynamics of each. Our results indicate that several properties of Boolean network dynamics are affected by the addition of multi-way interactions, and that these additions can have stabilizing or destabilizing effects.