Resilience (mathematics)

In mathematical modeling, resilience refers to the ability of a

dynamical system to recover from perturbations and return to its
original stable steady state.[1] It is a measure of the stability and
robustness of a system in the face of changes or disturbances. If a
system is not resilient enough, it is more susceptible to perturbations
and can more easily undergo a critical transition. A common
analogy used to explain the concept of resilience of an equilibrium
is one of a ball in a valley. A resilient steady state corresponds to a
ball in a deep valley, so any push or perturbation will very quickly
Ball-and-valley analogy of resilience.
lead the ball to return to the resting point where it started. On the
A resilient steady state can be
other hand, a less resilient steady state corresponds to a ball in a
thought of as a ball in a deep valley,
shallow valley, so the ball will take a much longer time to return to
and it takes a large perturbation to
the equilibrium after a perturbation.
move the ball away to an alternative
steady state. A steady state that is
The concept of resilience is particularly useful in systems that
less resilient can be thought of as a
exhibit tipping points, whose study has a long history that can be
ball in a shallow valley, where
traced back to catastrophe theory. While this theory was initially
smaller perturbations can be enough
overhyped and fell out of favor, its mathematical foundation
to make the system unstable.
remains strong and is now recognized as relevant to many different
systems.[2][3]

History
In 1973, Canadian ecologist C. S. Holling proposed a definition of resilience in the context of ecological
systems. According to Holling, resilience is "a measure of the persistence of systems and of their ability to
absorb change and disturbance and still maintain the same relationships between populations or state
variables". Holling distinguished two types of resilience: engineering resilience and ecological resilience.[4]
Engineering resilience refers to the ability of a system to return to its original state after a disturbance, such
as a bridge that can be repaired after an earthquake. Ecological resilience, on the other hand, refers to the
ability of a system to maintain its identity and function despite a disturbance, such as a forest that can
regenerate after a wildfire while maintaining its biodiversity and ecosystem services. With time, the once
well-defined and unambiguous concept of resilience has experienced a gradual erosion of its clarity,
becoming more vague and closer to an umbrella term than a specific concrete measure.[5]

Definition
Mathematically, resilience can be approximated by the inverse of the return time to an equilibrium[6][7][8]
given by

where is the maximum eigenvalue of matrix .

The largest this value is, the faster a system returns to the original stable steady state, or in other words, the
faster the perturbations decay.[9]

Applications and examples

In ecology, resilience might refer to the ability of the ecosystem to recover from disturbances such as fires,
droughts, or the introduction of invasive species. A resilient ecosystem would be one that is able to adapt to
these changes and continue functioning, while a less resilient ecosystem might experience irreversible
damage or collapse.[10] The exact definition of resilience has remained vague for practical matters, which
has lead to a slow and proper application of its insights for management of ecosystems.[11]

In epidemiology, resilience may refer to the ability of a healthy community to recover from the introduction
of infected individuals.

Resilience is an important concept in the study of complex systems, where there are many interacting
components that can affect each other in unpredictable ways.[12] Mathematical models can be used to
explore the resilience of such systems and to identify strategies for improving their resilience in the face of
environmental or other changes. For example, when modelling networks it is often important to be able to
quantify network resilience, or network robustness, to the loss of nodes. Scale-free networks are
particularly resilient[13] since most of their nodes have few links. This means that if some nodes are
randomly removed, it is more likely that the nodes with fewer connections are taken out, thus preserving
the key properties of the network.[14]

See also
Engineering resilience
Ecological resilience
Critical transition
Bifurcation theory

References
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