# gst: apropos of persistence or extinction, lag-induced critical transitions to extinction in replicating systems; the 𝜏-tipping mechanism.

<< Replicating systems sustained by error-prone enzymatic amplification can undergo critical transitions between persistence and extinction. In RNA viruses, such transitions are classically governed by mutation rates and fitness landscape topographies, giving rise to error thresholds and lethal mutagenesis. >>

<< Motivated by experimental evidence that polymerase-targeting antivirals limit replication, (AA) analyze replicating systems with explicit time lags in replication-enzyme availability by means of delay differential equations. (Their) approach is not equivalent to a simple renormalization of the rate of replication, since explicit delays introduce memory and temporal nonlocality into the dynamics. (They)  identify a lag-induced critical transition driven by the loss of temporal coordination between genome expression and replication. >>

<< At fixed mutation and replication rates ensuring persistence, populations cross an extinction threshold solely due to replication delays. In (Their) delay-extended quasispecies model, the timing of replicase availability emerges as an independent dynamical control parameter, defining a route to extinction that is fundamentally distinct from transitions driven by mutation rates or replicative fitness. >>

<< These (AA) results further suggest that perturbing the temporal coordination of viral replication may provide an alternative antiviral strategy for driving viral populations toward collapse. More generally, (They) propose that the extinction mechanism described here constitutes a form of lag-time-induced tipping, which (They) denote as 𝜏-tipping. >>

Edward A. Turner, Francisco Crespo, Joan Gimeno, et al. Lag-induced critical transitions to extinction in replicating systems: the 𝜏-tipping mechanism. Phys. Rev. E 114, 024401. Aug 5, 2026.

https://journals.aps.org/pre/abstract/10.1103/gyd9-ctnc

arXiv: 2603.02036v1 [q-bio.PE]. Mar 2, 2026. 

https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.02036

Also: transition, pause, silence, virus, collapse, in https://www.inkgmr.net/kwrds.html 

Keywords: gst, transitions, pause, silence, virus, error, collapse, genomes, RNA virus, replication, replicating systems, enzymatic amplification, criticality, persistence, extinction, mutation rates, fitness landscape topographies, error threshold, time-delay systems, lag-time-induced tipping, lag-induced critical transition, loss of temporal coordination.

# gst: apropos of itinerant behaviors, from chaotic itinerancy to intermittent synchronization in complex networks.

<< ️Although synchronization has been extensively studied, important processes underlying its emergence have remained hidden by the use of global order parameters. Here, (AA) uncover how the route unfolds through a sequential transition between two well-known but previously unconnected phenomena: chaotic itinerancy (CI) and intermittent synchronization (IS). >>

<< ️Using a new symbolic dynamics, (They) show that CI emerges as a collective yet unsynchronized exploration of different domains of the high-dimensional attractor, whose dimension is reduced as the coupling increases, ultimately collapsing back into the reference chaotic attractor of an individual unit. At this stage, the IS can emerge as irregular alternations between synchronous and asynchronous phases. The two phenomena are therefore mutually exclusive, each dominating a distinct coupling interval and governed by different mechanisms. >>

<< ️Network structural heterogeneity enhances itinerant behavior since access to different domains of the attractor depends on the nodes' topological roles. The CI--IS crossover occurs within a consistent coupling interval across models and topologies. Experiments on electronic oscillator networks confirm this two-step process, establishing a unified framework for the route to synchronization in complex systems. >>

I. Leyva, Irene Sendiña-Nadal, Christophe Letellier, et al. From chaotic itinerancy to intermittent synchronization in complex networks. arXiv: 2511.09253v1 [nlin.AO]. Nov 12, 2025.

https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.09253

Also: network, behav, intermittency, transition, attractor, chaos, collapse, in https://www.inkgmr.net/kwrds.html 

Keywords: gst, networks, behavior, intermittency, transitions, attractor, chaos, collapse, chaotic itinerancy, intermittent synchronization, structural heterogeneity, itinerant behavior.