Physics Commons^™

Systematic Analysis Of Nonlinearities In Complex Models, Alexander Shumway, Mark Transtrum

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Mathematical models are ubiquitous in science. Many models are nonlinear in the parameters and may have dozens to thousands of parameters and make hundreds to thousands of predictions. Analysis and application of these models is thus theoretically complicated and computationally expensive.

The standard method of model analysis is a model-by-model approach that relies on the intuition of expert researchers. Recent research, however, has shown that many models—known as sloppy models—are statistically similar, despite coming from widely varied fields⁴. This suggests the possibility of developing a theory of modeling in place of relying on expert intuition. Our research …