On the flexibility of complex systems

Abstract

Many complex systems satisfy a set of constraints on their degrees of freedom, and at the same time, they are able to work and adapt to different conditions. Here, we describe the emergence of this ability in a simplified model in which the system must satisfy a set of random dense linear constraints. By statistical mechanics techniques, we describe the transition between a non-flexible system in which the constraints are not fully satisfied, to a flexible system, in which the constraints can be satisfied in many ways. This phase transition is described in terms of the appearance of zeros modes in the statistical mechanics problem.