2026/03/05 by Bernd von Mallinckrodt · 1 voice
paper · doi:10.5281/zenodo.18877854
openalex publication_date 2026/03/05 · openalex created_date 2026/03/06 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/16
This technical note presents the Compression–Resonance–Tension Index (CRTI) as a diagnostic parameter for systemic fragility in complex adaptive systems. Contrary to the traditional assumption that instability arises primarily from disorder or entropy growth, the proposed framework explores the hypothesis that systemic collapse often emerges from excessive structural order—a condition described here as singularization. In this state, increasing structural compression reduces a system’s capacity to process environmental feedback, thereby muting resonance and allowing internal tension to accumulate. The CRTI is introduced as a ratio describing this relationship: CRTI = T / (R · Φ) where T represents internal systemic tension, R the system’s resonance with environmental signals, and Φ its structural permeability for feedback and adaptive information flows. Within this interpretation, increasing compression decreases the effective damping capacity (R · Φ), leading to a regime of high short-term stability but increasing structural brittleness. The framework is situated within the broader context of complex systems theory, nonlinear dynamics, and network resilience research, drawing conceptual parallels to: Highly Optimized Tolerance (HOT) Self-Organized Criticality (SOC) Critical transition theory Control theory and damped oscillator models To move beyond a purely conceptual formulation, the paper proposes a minimal dynamical representation using a stochastic Langevin-type equation, where resonance and permeability act as diffusion terms governing a system’s capacity to dissipate accumulated tension. A simulation pathway is outlined using two potential experimental environments: Modified sandpile or cellular automata models, where structural compression constrains flow directions. Coupled oscillator networks (Kuramoto-type systems), where increasing coupling strength and reduced external feedback may produce abrupt desynchronization cascades. The CRTI is therefore proposed as a potential early-warning diagnostic for structural brittleness, complementing established indicators such as critical slowing down. Rather than focusing on noise or variance alone, the framework emphasizes the role of structural constraints that suppress adaptive feedback channels. Key open challenges include the independent empirical measurement of tension variables, the likely tensorial nature of resonance and permeability in real networks, and the integration of strategic redundancy (“resilience reserves”) into future model extensions. If empirically validated, the CRTI framework may contribute to the diagnosis of fragility in domains such as financial systems, organizational governance, ecological resilience, and large-scale socio-technical infrastructures. Optimale Keywords Compression–Resonance–Tension Index (CRTI) Structural Fragility Complex Adaptive Systems Systemic Risk Singularization Nonlinear Dynamics Critical Transitions Early Warning Signals Complex Systems Theory Network Fragility Resilience and Robustness Control Parameters Bifurcation Theory Statistical Physics of Complex Systems Feedback Permeability Highly Optimized Tolerance (HOT) Self-Organized Criticality (SOC) Organizational Complexity System Stability and Collapse Adaptive Systems Diagnostics