Computational Experiments for Complex Social Systems:Experiment Design and Generative Explanation

Powered by advanced information technology,more and more complex systems are exhibiting characteristics of the cyber-physical-social systems(CPSS).In this context,computational experiments method has emerged as a novel approach for the design,analysis,management,control,and integration of CPSS,which can realize the causal analysis of complex systems by means of“algorithmization”of“counterfactuals”.However,because CPSS involve human and social factors(e.g.,autonomy,initiative,and sociality),it is difficult for traditional design of experiment(DOE)methods to achieve the generative explanation of system emergence.To address this challenge,this paper proposes an integrated approach to the design of computational experiments,incorporating three key modules:1)Descriptive module:Determining the influencing factors and response variables of the system by means of the modeling of an artificial society;2)Interpretative module:Selecting factorial experimental design solution to identify the relationship between influencing factors and macro phenomena;3)Predictive module:Building a meta-model that is equivalent to artificial society to explore its operating laws.Finally,a case study of crowd-sourcing platforms is presented to illustrate the application process and effectiveness of the proposed approach,which can reveal the social impact of algorithmic behavior on“rider race”.

Prescribed Performance Tracking Control of Time-Delay Nonlinear Systems With Output Constraints

The problem of prescribed performance tracking control for unknown time-delay nonlinear systems subject to output constraints is dealt with in this paper. In contrast with related works, only the most fundamental requirements, i.e., boundedness and the local Lipschitz condition, are assumed for the allowable time delays. Moreover, we focus on the case where the reference is unknown beforehand, which renders the standard prescribed performance control designs under output constraints infeasible. To conquer these challenges, a novel robust prescribed performance control approach is put forward in this paper.Herein, a reverse tuning function is skillfully constructed and automatically generates a performance envelop for the tracking error. In addition, a unified performance analysis framework based on proof by contradiction and the barrier function is established to reveal the inherent robustness of the control system against the time delays. It turns out that the system output tracks the reference with a preassigned settling time and good accuracy,without constraint violations. A comparative simulation on a two-stage chemical reactor is carried out to illustrate the above theoretical findings.

Conventional Geothermal Systems and Unconventional Geothermal Developments: An Overview

This paper provides an overview of conventional geothermal systems and unconventional geothermal developments as a common reference is needed for discussions between energy professionals. Conventional geothermal systems have the heat, permeability and fluid, requiring only drilling down to °C, normal heat flow or decaying radiogenic granite as heat sources, and used in district heating. Medium-temperature (MT) 100°C - 190°C, and high-temperature (HT) 190°C - 374°C resources are mostly at plate boundaries, with volcanic intrusive heat source, used mostly for electricity generation. Single well capacities are °C - 500°C) and a range of depths (1 m to 20 Km), but lack permeability or fluid, thus requiring stimulations for heat extraction by conduction. HVAC is 1 - 2 m deep and shallow geothermal down to 500 m in wells, both capturing °C, with °C are either advanced by geothermal developers at <7 Km depth (Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), drilling below brittle-ductile transition zones and under geothermal fields), or by the Oil & Gas industry (Advanced Geothermal Systems, heat recovery from hydrocarbon wells or reservoirs, Superhot Rock Geothermal, and millimeter-wave drilling down to 20 Km). Their primary aim is electricity generation, relying on closed-loops, but EGS uses fractures for heat exchange with earthquake risks during fracking. Unconventional approaches could be everywhere, with shallow geothermal already functional. The deeper and hotter unconventional alternatives are still experimental, overcoming costs and technological challenges to become fully commercial. Meanwhile, the conventional geothermal resources remain the most proven opportunities for investments and development.

Computation Tree Logic Model Checking of Multi-Agent Systems Based on Fuzzy Epistemic Interpreted Systems

Model checking is an automated formal verification method to verify whether epistemic multi-agent systems adhere to property specifications.Although there is an extensive literature on qualitative properties such as safety and liveness,there is still a lack of quantitative and uncertain property verifications for these systems.In uncertain environments,agents must make judicious decisions based on subjective epistemic.To verify epistemic and measurable properties in multi-agent systems,this paper extends fuzzy computation tree logic by introducing epistemic modalities and proposing a new Fuzzy Computation Tree Logic of Knowledge(FCTLK).We represent fuzzy multi-agent systems as distributed knowledge bases with fuzzy epistemic interpreted systems.In addition,we provide a transformation algorithm from fuzzy epistemic interpreted systems to fuzzy Kripke structures,as well as transformation rules from FCTLK formulas to Fuzzy Computation Tree Logic(FCTL)formulas.Accordingly,we transform the FCTLK model checking problem into the FCTL model checking.This enables the verification of FCTLK formulas by using the fuzzy model checking algorithm of FCTL without additional computational overheads.Finally,we present correctness proofs and complexity analyses of the proposed algorithms.Additionally,we further illustrate the practical application of our approach through an example of a train control system.

Analysis and Design of Time-Delay Impulsive Systems Subject to Actuator Saturation

This paper investigates the exponential stability and performance analysis of nonlinear time-delay impulsive systems subject to actuator saturation. When continuous dynamics is unstable, under some conditions, it is shown that the system can be stabilized by a class of saturated delayed-impulses regardless of the length of input delays. Conversely, when the system is originally stable, it is shown that under some conditions, the system is robust with respect to sufficient small delayed-impulses. Moreover, the design problem of the controller with the goal of obtaining a maximized estimate of the domain of attraction is formulated via a convex optimization problem. Three examples are provided to demonstrate the validity of the main results.

A Survey on Type-3 Fuzzy Logic Systems and Their Control Applications

In this paper,we offer a review of type-3 fuzzy logic systems and their applications in control.The main objective of this work is to observe and analyze in detail the applications in the control area using type-3 fuzzy logic systems.In this case,we review their most important applications in control and other related topics with type-3 fuzzy systems.Intelligent algorithms have been receiving increasing attention in control and for this reason a review in this area is important.This paper reviews the main applications that make use of Intelligent Computing methods.Specifically,type-3 fuzzy logic systems.The aim of this research is to be able to appreciate,in detail,the applications in control systems and to point out the scientific trends in the use of Intelligent Computing techniques.This is done with the construction and visualization of bibliometric networks,developed with VosViewer Software,which it is a free Java-based program,mainly intended to be used for analyzing and visualizing bibliometric networks.With this tool,we can create maps of publications,authors,or journals based on a co-citation network or construct maps of keywords,countries based on a co-occurrence networks,research groups,etc.

Designing Proportional-Integral Consensus Protocols for Second-Order Multi-Agent Systems Using Delayed and Memorized State Information

This paper is concerned with consensus of a secondorder linear time-invariant multi-agent system in the situation that there exists a communication delay among the agents in the network.A proportional-integral consensus protocol is designed by using delayed and memorized state information.Under the proportional-integral consensus protocol,the consensus problem of the multi-agent system is transformed into the problem of asymptotic stability of the corresponding linear time-invariant time-delay system.Note that the location of the eigenvalues of the corresponding characteristic function of the linear time-invariant time-delay system not only determines the stability of the system,but also plays a critical role in the dynamic performance of the system.In this paper,based on recent results on the distribution of roots of quasi-polynomials,several necessary conditions for Hurwitz stability for a class of quasi-polynomials are first derived.Then allowable regions of consensus protocol parameters are estimated.Some necessary and sufficient conditions for determining effective protocol parameters are provided.The designed protocol can achieve consensus and improve the dynamic performance of the second-order multi-agent system.Moreover,the effects of delays on consensus of systems of harmonic oscillators/double integrators under proportional-integral consensus protocols are investigated.Furthermore,some results on proportional-integral consensus are derived for a class of high-order linear time-invariant multi-agent systems.

Numerical simulation for the initial state of avalanche in polydisperse particle systems

Numerical simulation is employed to investigate the initial state of avalanche in polydisperse particle systems.Nucleation and propagation processes are illustrated for pentadisperse and triadisperse particle systems,respectively.In these processes,particles involved in the avalanche grow slowly in the early stage and explosively in the later stage,which is clearly different from the continuous and steady growth trend in the monodisperse system.By examining the avalanche propagation,the number growth of particles involved in the avalanche and the slope of the number growth,the initial state can be divided into three stages:T1(nucleation stage),T2(propagation stage),T3(overall avalanche stage).We focus on the characteristics of the avalanche in the T2 stage,and find that propagation distances increase almost linearly in both axial and radial directions in polydisperse systems.We also consider the distribution characteristics of the average coordination number and average velocity for the moving particles.The results support that the polydisperse particle systems are more stable in the T2 stage.

Quantum discord and its dynamics for multipartite systems

Quantum discord, one of the famous quantum correlations, has been recently generalized to multipartite systems by Radhakrishnan et al. Here we give analytical solutions of the quantum discord for a family of N-qubit quantum states. For the bipartite system, we derive a zero quantum discord which will remain unchanged under the phase damping channel. For multiparitite systems, it is found that the quantum discord can be classified into three categories and the quantum discord for odd-partite systems can exhibit freezing under the phase damping channel, while the freezing does not exist in the even-partite systems.

Bipartite consensus problems of Lurie multi-agent systems over signed graphs: A contraction approach

This paper examines the bipartite consensus problems for the nonlinear multi-agent systems in Lurie dynamics form with cooperative and competitive communication between different agents. Based on the contraction theory, some new conditions for the nonlinear Lurie multi-agent systems reaching bipartite leaderless consensus and bipartite tracking consensus are presented. Compared with the traditional methods, this approach degrades the dimensions of the conditions, eliminates some restrictions of the system matrix, and extends the range of the nonlinear function. Finally, two numerical examples are provided to illustrate the efficiency of our results.

Observer-based dynamic event-triggered control for distributed parameter systems over mobile sensor-plus-actuator networks

We develop a policy of observer-based dynamic event-triggered state feedback control for distributed parameter systems over a mobile sensor-plus-actuator network.It is assumed that the mobile sensing devices that provide spatially averaged state measurements can be used to improve state estimation in the network.For the purpose of decreasing the update frequency of controller and unnecessary sampled data transmission, an efficient dynamic event-triggered control policy is constructed.In an event-triggered system, when an error signal exceeds a specified time-varying threshold, it indicates the occurrence of a typical event.The global asymptotic stability of the event-triggered closed-loop system and the boundedness of the minimum inter-event time can be guaranteed.Based on the linear quadratic optimal regulator, the actuator selects the optimal displacement only when an event occurs.A simulation example is finally used to verify that the effectiveness of such a control strategy can enhance the system performance.

Enhancing Security and Privacy in Distributed Face Recognition Systems through Blockchain and GAN Technologies

The use of privacy-enhanced facial recognition has increased in response to growing concerns about data securityand privacy in the digital age. This trend is spurred by rising demand for face recognition technology in a varietyof industries, including access control, law enforcement, surveillance, and internet communication. However,the growing usage of face recognition technology has created serious concerns about data monitoring and userprivacy preferences, especially in context-aware systems. In response to these problems, this study provides a novelframework that integrates sophisticated approaches such as Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), Blockchain,and distributed computing to solve privacy concerns while maintaining exact face recognition. The framework’spainstaking design and execution strive to strike a compromise between precise face recognition and protectingpersonal data integrity in an increasingly interconnected environment. Using cutting-edge tools like Dlib for faceanalysis,Ray Cluster for distributed computing, and Blockchain for decentralized identity verification, the proposedsystem provides scalable and secure facial analysis while protecting user privacy. The study’s contributions includethe creation of a sustainable and scalable solution for privacy-aware face recognition, the implementation of flexibleprivacy computing approaches based on Blockchain networks, and the demonstration of higher performanceover previous methods. Specifically, the proposed StyleGAN model has an outstanding accuracy rate of 93.84%while processing high-resolution images from the CelebA-HQ dataset, beating other evaluated models such asProgressive GAN 90.27%, CycleGAN 89.80%, and MGAN 80.80%. With improvements in accuracy, speed, andprivacy protection, the framework has great promise for practical use in a variety of fields that need face recognitiontechnology. This study paves the way for future research in privacy-enhanced face recognition systems, emphasizingthe significance of using cutting-edge technology to meet rising privacy issues in digital identity.

Finite-time Prescribed Performance Time-Varying Formation Control for Second-Order Multi-Agent Systems With Non-Strict Feedback Based on a Neural Network Observer

This paper studies the problem of time-varying formation control with finite-time prescribed performance for nonstrict feedback second-order multi-agent systems with unmeasured states and unknown nonlinearities.To eliminate nonlinearities,neural networks are applied to approximate the inherent dynamics of the system.In addition,due to the limitations of the actual working conditions,each follower agent can only obtain the locally measurable partial state information of the leader agent.To address this problem,a neural network state observer based on the leader state information is designed.Then,a finite-time prescribed performance adaptive output feedback control strategy is proposed by restricting the sliding mode surface to a prescribed region,which ensures that the closed-loop system has practical finite-time stability and that formation errors of the multi-agent systems converge to the prescribed performance bound in finite time.Finally,a numerical simulation is provided to demonstrate the practicality and effectiveness of the developed algorithm.

A Distributionally Robust Optimization Scheduling Model for Regional Integrated Energy Systems Considering Hot Dry Rock Co-Generation

Hot dry rock(HDR)is rich in reserve,widely distributed,green,low-carbon,and has broad development potential and prospects.In this paper,a distributionally robust optimization(DRO)scheduling model for a regionally integrated energy system(RIES)considering HDR co-generation is proposed.First,the HDR-enhanced geothermal system(HDR-EGS)is introduced into the RIES.HDR-EGS realizes the thermoelectric decoupling of combined heat and power(CHP)through coordinated operation with the regional power grid and the regional heat grid,which enhances the system wind power(WP)feed-in space.Secondly,peak-hour loads are shifted using price demand response guidance in the context of time-of-day pricing.Finally,the optimization objective is established to minimize the total cost in the RIES scheduling cycle and construct a DRO scheduling model for RIES with HDR-EGS.By simulating a real small-scale RIES,the results show that HDR-EGS can effectively promote WP consumption and reduce the operating cost of the system.

The First Five Years of a Phase Theory for Complex Systems and Networks

In this paper,we review the development of a phase theory for systems and networks in its first five years,represented by a trilogy:Matrix phases and their properties;The MIMO LTI system phase response,its physical interpretations,the small phase theorem,and the sectored real lemma;The synchronization of a multi-agent network using phase alignment.Towards the end,we also summarize a list of ongoing research on the phase theory and speculate what will happen in the next five years.

Fixed-Time Antidisturbance Consensus Tracking for Nonlinear Multiagent Systems With Matching and Mismatching Disturbances

In this paper,fixed-time consensus tracking for mul-tiagent systems(MASs)with dynamics in the form of strict feed-back affine nonlinearity is addressed.A fixed-time antidistur-bance consensus tracking protocol is proposed,which consists of a distributed fixed-time observer,a fixed-time disturbance observer,a nonsmooth antidisturbance backstepping controller,and the fixed-time stability analysis is conducted by using the Lyapunov theory correspondingly.This paper includes three main improvements.First,a distributed fixed-time observer is developed for each follower to obtain an estimate of the leader’s output by utilizing the topology of the communication network.Second,a fixed-time disturbance observer is given to estimate the lumped disturbances for feedforward compensation.Finally,a nonsmooth antidisturbance backstepping tracking controller with feedforward compensation for lumped disturbances is designed.In order to mitigate the“explosion of complexity”in the tradi-tional backstepping approach,we have implemented a modified nonsmooth command filter to enhance the performance of the closed-loop system.The simulation results show that the pro-posed method is effective.

Computing large deviation prefactors of stochastic dynamical systems based on machine learning

We present a large deviation theory that characterizes the exponential estimate for rare events in stochastic dynamical systems in the limit of weak noise.We aim to consider a next-to-leading-order approximation for more accurate calculation of the mean exit time by computing large deviation prefactors with the aid of machine learning.More specifically,we design a neural network framework to compute quasipotential,most probable paths and prefactors based on the orthogonal decomposition of a vector field.We corroborate the higher effectiveness and accuracy of our algorithm with two toy models.Numerical experiments demonstrate its powerful functionality in exploring the internal mechanism of rare events triggered by weak random fluctuations.

Carrying Capacity and Coupling Coordination of Water and Land Resources Systems in Arid and Semi-arid Areas: A Case Study of Yulin City, China

Quantitatively assessing the carrying capacity of water and land resources systems in arid and semi-arid areas is crucial for achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.In this work,taking Yulin City in China as a case study and employing the Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation(CRITIC)method,a modified model of coupling degree was developed to evaluate the car-rying capacity of water and land resources systems endowment and utilization,as well as their coupling coordination degree from 2013 to 2020.Our findings indicate that the water and land resources of Yulin are diminishing due to declines in agriculture,higher industrial water use,and wetland shrinkage.However,reallocating domestic water for ecological sustainability and reducing sloping farmland can mitigate this trend of decline.Temporally,as the coupling coordination between water and land resources system endowment in Yulin continuously improved,the coupling coordination between water and land resources system utilization first decreased and then in-creased with 2016 as the turning point.Spatially,the carrying capacity of water and land resources systems,the coupling coordination degree between water and land resources system endowment,and the coupling coordination degree between water and land resources system utilization in Yulin exhibited the same pattern of being higher in the six northern counties than in the six southern counties.Improving the water resources endowment is vital for the highly efficient use of water and land resources.

Rural labor migration and farmers’arrangements of rice production systems in Central China:Insight from the intergenerational division of labor

Rice production is crucial for food security in China,and its relationship with rural labor migration has been studied extensively.Labor migration in rural China has taken new forms in recent years.There has been a discernible trend wherein adult children have started migrating to cities while their elderly parents return to villages to re-engage in on-farm work.The phenomenon has notably shaped the intergenerational division of labor(IDL)within households.However,it remains to be seen how farmers adjust their rice production systems in response to the IDL.The age of 60 years for employment injury insurance is the eligibility threshold for off-farm employment and is used to obtain a source of exogenous variation in the IDL.Based on a representative household survey of 1,752 rice farmers in the Hubei Province of Central China,our fuzzy regression discontinuity analysis reveals that farmers in IDL households are more likely to adopt ratoon rice(RR)than single cropping rice(SR)or double cropping rice(DR).The effect of the IDL varies under different levels of operational scales and specialized agricultural service availability.Further analysis suggests that farmers’arrangements are associated with two potential mechanisms of downward intergenerational transfer.Monetary transfer for urban housing purchases increases RR in IDL households,and time transfer for intergenerational childcare significantly promotes SR in IDL households.This study enhances the understanding of the relationship between rural labor migration and rice production in China,providing a reference for adjusting rice production systems to ensure food security.

Interpolated Bumpless Transfer Control for Asynchronously Switched Linear Systems

This paper revisits the problem of bumpless transfer control(BTC) for discrete-time nondeterministic switched linear systems. The general case of asynchronous switching is considered for the first time in the field of BTC for switched systems. A new approach called interpolated bumpless transfer control(IBTC) is proposed, where the bumpless transfer controllers are formulated with the combination of the two adjacent modedependent controller gains, and are interpolated for finite steps once the switching is detected. In contrast with the existing approaches, IBTC does not necessarily run through the full interval of subsystems, as well as possesses the time-varying controller gains(with more flexibility and less conservatism) achieved from a control synthesis allowing for the stability and other performance of the whole switched system. Sufficient conditions ensuring stability and H_(∞) performance of the underlying system by IBTC are developed, and numerical examples verify the theoretical findings.