The physics of higher-order interaction networks

From social networks to the human brain, we are surrounded by complex systems whose behavior can not be derived simply from the knowledge of the systems components. Over the past decades, a variety of complex systems have been successfully described by networks, where system units are represented as nodes, and pairwise interactions are encoded through links. However, non-dyadic interactions are ubiquitous in nature, and for this reason we need new ways to encode and capture the complexity of many real-world systems. In this project we propose a more powerful and general framework for complex systems -- higher-order networks -- and investigate how the presence of non-pairwise interactions affect collective dynamics, from synchronization in the brain to social contagion and opinion spreading in human societies. 1/