We introduce a homotopy theory of digraphs (directed graphs) and prove its basic properties, including the relations to the homology theory of digraphs constructed by the authors in previous papers. In particular, we prove the homotopy invariance of homologies of digraphs and the relation between the fundamental group of the digraph and its first homology group. The category of (undirected) graphs can be identified by a natural way with a full subcategory of digraphs. Thus we obtain also consistent homology and homotopy theories for graphs.

We study a certain discrete differentiation of piecewise-constant functions on the adjoint of the braid hyperplane arrangement, defined by taking finite-differences across hyperplanes. In terms of Aguiar-Mahajan's Lie theory of hyperplane arrangements, we show that this structure is equivalent to the action of Lie elements on faces. We use layered binary trees to encode flags of adjoint arrangement faces, allowing for the representation of certain Lie elements by antisymmetrized layered binary forests. This is dual to the well-known use of (delayered) binary trees to represent Lie elements of the braid arrangement. The discrete derivative then induces an action of layered binary forests on piecewise-constant functions, which we call the forest derivative. Our main result states that forest derivatives of functions factorize as external products of functions precisely if one restricts to functions which satisfy the Steinmann relations, which are certain four-term linear relations appearing in the foundations of axiomatic quantum field theory. We also show that the forest derivative satisfies the Lie properties of antisymmetry the Jacobi identity. It follows from these Lie properties, and also crucially factorization, that functions which satisfy the Steinmann relations form a left comodule of the Lie cooperad, with the coaction given by the forest derivative. Dually, this endows the adjoint braid arrangement modulo the Steinmann relations with the structure of a Lie algebra internal to the category of vector species. This work is a first step towards describing new connections between Hopf theory in species and quantum field theory.

Inspired by works of Castéras (Pac J Math 276:321–345, 2015), Li and Zhu (Calc Var Partial Differ Equ 58:1–18, 2019), Sun and Zhu (Calc Var Partial Differ Equ 60:1–26, 2021), we propose a heat flow for the mean field equation on a connected finite graph G=(V,E). Namely ∂_tϕ(u)=Δu−Q+ρ\frac{e^u}{∫_V e^u dμ} u(⋅,0)=u_0, where Δ is the standard graph Laplacian, ρ is a real number, Q:V→R is a function satisfying ∫_V Qdμ=ρ, and ϕ:R→R is one of certain smooth functions including ϕ(s)=es. We prove that for any initial data u_0 and any ρ∈R, there exists a unique solution u:V×[0,+∞)→R of the above heat flow; moreover, u(x, t) converges to some function u_∞:V→R uniformly in x∈V as t→+∞, and u_∞ is a solution of the mean field equation Δu_∞−Q+ρ\frac{e^{u_∞}}{∫_V e^{u_∞}dμ}=0. Though G is a finite graph, this result is still unexpected, even in the special case Q≡0. Our approach reads as follows: the short time existence of the heat flow follows from the ODE theory; various integral estimates give its long time existence; moreover we establish a Lojasiewicz–Simon type inequality and use it to conclude the convergence of the heat flow.

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It is known that finitely generated FI-modules over a field of characteristic 0 are Noetherian. We generalize this result to the abstract setting of an infinite EI category satisfying certain combinatorial conditions.