Complex Systems Group of Dr. Rene C. Batac

The Complex Systems Group of Dr. Rene C. Batac aims to quantify the signatures of emergence from various complex systems in nature and human society.

[Complex Systems Group of Dr. Rene C. Batac @csgrcb]

He used a discrete Fick’s model of diffusion to model the railway network of Greater Manila, Philippines, showing left-skewed distributions of equilibrium times for various initial conditions. The paper is co-authored by Dr. Rene Batac, Enrico Miguel Posadas and Ramon Sarigumba.

[Complex Systems Group of Dr. Rene C. Batac @csgrcb]

Dr. Jude Maria V. Antenorcruz, a research faculty of the Complex Systems Group, was awarded the best oral presentation during the parallel sessions of the 2026 16th International Conference on Applied Physics and Mathematics (ICAPM) held on April 10-12, 2025 in Osaka, Japan.

[Complex Systems Group of Dr. Rene C. Batac @csgrcb]

Prof. Masaki Ogura from the @hu_oguralab Hiroshima University visited the DLSU on March 9, 2026. He gave a talk "From Local Interventions to Scalable System-Level Effects" to the faculty and students of the Complex Systems Group (CSG).

[Complex Systems Group of Dr. Rene C. Batac @csgrcb]

The preliminary work highlights the need for encouraging stronger collaborations among the researchers, not only from academia but from other sectors, to align with the targets outlined in the national science and technology agenda.

[Complex Systems Group of Dr. Rene C. Batac @csgrcb]

We studied the co-authorship network of a pioneer community of Philippine physics researchers:

K.M.A. Aguana and R.C. Batac, Emergence of power-law statistics in the co-authorship networks of Philippine physics researchers, Scientometrics, https://t.co/oLBRRv0qpa (2026).

[Complex Systems Group of Dr. Rene C. Batac @csgrcb]

Using data from Scopus limited to researchers from 5 universities offering doctoral degrees in physics, we observe faster-than-linear trends in productivity from 1985-2024. The distribution of co-author and co-authorship counts follow robust power-laws over the last two decades.

[Complex Systems Group of Dr. Rene C. Batac @csgrcb]

Our results recover power-law distributions of neuronal avalanches, with critical scaling exponents close to 3/2. The resulting rewired network also exhibits the log-normal distributions of node degrees, and the power-law distributions of edge weights with exponents close to 3.

[Complex Systems Group of Dr. Rene C. Batac @csgrcb]

We model brain network structures using sandpiles with learning on hierarchical modular networks:
M.T. Cirunay, R.C. Batac, and G. Ódor, Learning and criticality in a self-organizing model of connectome growth, Sci Rep 15, 31890 (2025). https://t.co/vNLBSWEHLp

[Complex Systems Group of Dr. Rene C. Batac @csgrcb]

In our model, the sandpile model of self-organized criticality is imposed on hierarchical modular networks. Hebbian learning is imposed during avalanche events, as toppled sites are rewired to have stronger connections. Random prunings are also introduced during stasis times.

[Complex Systems Group of Dr. Rene C. Batac @csgrcb]

We also observe the hierarchical scaling of Philippine cities based on population, which is a consequence of the Zipfian statistics. On the other hand, Gibrat's law is not observed, as the growth rates of the cities are found to be not independent of their populations.

[Complex Systems Group of Dr. Rene C. Batac @csgrcb]

Our new paper examines the power-law signatures in the statistics of populations of Philippine cities and municipalities:

D.M.T. Ordoñez and R.C. Batac, Testing the validity of Zipf and Pareto laws: A multi-method approach, Physica A, https://t.co/Q1IbD3PI0x

[Complex Systems Group of Dr. Rene C. Batac @csgrcb]

Census data from the last 20 years manifest power-law statistics for the top 30% of cities/municipalities that hold 70% of the population. Population distributions follow the Pareto law with exponents close to 2.5, and rank-size trends follow Zipf's law with exponents of 0.7.

[Complex Systems Group of Dr. Rene C. Batac @csgrcb]

Ordoñez has just received his Master of Science in Applied Physics degree from the De La Salle University. His research works in the Complex Systems Group involve statistical analyses of economic variables and urban complexity, with a focus on Philippine metropolitan regions.

[Complex Systems Group of Dr. Rene C. Batac @csgrcb]

Dylan Marcus Ordoñez, a member of the Complex Systems Group, presented his research work during the 43rd Physics Conference of the Physics Society of the Philippines held on June 25-28, 2025 in the University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines.

[Complex Systems Group of Dr. Rene C. Batac @csgrcb]

The work identified the positive and negative factors affecting the deviations of individual Philippine local government units from the expected Zipf's law of population distribution using the 2020 census data and the Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI).

[Complex Systems Group of Dr. Rene C. Batac @csgrcb]

This result is a signature of self-organization in urban space. Other details can be found in: https://t.co/mlcIGSbJgP

[Complex Systems Group of Dr. Rene C. Batac @csgrcb]

Edward Russel Hernandez presented his research work during the 15th ICAPM held on April 10-12, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan.

[Complex Systems Group of Dr. Rene C. Batac @csgrcb]

The work studied the occurrence of robust power-law distributions with exponent 2 in tree-covered areas of Southeast Asian capitals.

[Complex Systems Group of Dr. Rene C. Batac @csgrcb]

These works appear to indicate that the atmosphere, while heavily affected by anthropogenic factors (primarily, urbanization) that cause pollution, is a complex system manifesting self-organized criticality (SOC).

[Complex Systems Group of Dr. Rene C. Batac @csgrcb]

New Publication: 
Complexity in atmospheric particulate matter concentration

[Complex Systems Group of Dr. Rene C. Batac @csgrcb]

This cross-sectional (i.e. across various cities) analysis complements the previous longitudinal (i.e. within-city data over extended periods of time) analyses that also show power-law regimes.