Allometry is crucial in biology; scaling relations are implied in laws of growth of living systems. The self similarity of Gompertzian growths of biological organisms plays a key role, in this regard, in biological similitude. The origin of allometric relationships and values of the scaling exponents is a source of debate, as well as the origin of the range of biological scales. But, besides biology, scaling and growth characterize many different complex systems. Encompassing these aspects in a unified view is an interesting target. In this paper we propose a coarse but significant model that is applied to astrophysical structures and biological organisms. The inclusion of such different systems suggests applications to fields where allometry is emerging, such as economics, urban planning and the social sciences.
Allometry and growth: A unified view
2012-01-01
Abstract
Allometry is crucial in biology; scaling relations are implied in laws of growth of living systems. The self similarity of Gompertzian growths of biological organisms plays a key role, in this regard, in biological similitude. The origin of allometric relationships and values of the scaling exponents is a source of debate, as well as the origin of the range of biological scales. But, besides biology, scaling and growth characterize many different complex systems. Encompassing these aspects in a unified view is an interesting target. In this paper we propose a coarse but significant model that is applied to astrophysical structures and biological organisms. The inclusion of such different systems suggests applications to fields where allometry is emerging, such as economics, urban planning and the social sciences.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
