2016/07/23 by Devadoss, Satyan L., Petti, Samantha
#05E45 #14H10 #52B11 #92B10 #Algebraic Topology (math.AT) #Combinatorics (math.CO) #Discrete Mathematics (cs.DM) #FOS: Biological sciences #FOS: Computer and information sciences #FOS: Mathematics #Populations and Evolution (q-bio.PE)
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1607.06978
A classic problem in computational biology is constructing a phylogenetic tree given a set of distances between n species. In most cases, a tree structure is too constraining. We consider a circular split network, a generalization of a tree in which multiple parallel edges signify divergence. A geometric space of such networks is introduced, forming a natural extension of the work by Billera, Holmes, and Vogtmann on tree space. We explore properties of this space, and show a natural embedding of the compactification of the real moduli space of curves within it.