{"ID":23560523,"CreatedAt":"2026-09-18T04:32:43.450744143Z","UpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T04:32:43.450744143Z","DeletedAt":null,"paper_url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.20759","arxiv_id":"2609.20759","title":"Is higher-order physics different?","abstract":"Group interactions are widespread, and higher-order extensions of familiar models display collective phenomena absent from their pairwise baselines, which are routinely offered as evidence of a distinct higher-order physics. We ask whether that claim survives the test that gives new a precise meaning in statistical physics: that of universality. Revisiting canonical higher-order models, we argue that what classifies collective behavior are the infrared ingredients that survive at long scales. Arity is not a universality label. Beyond universality, we examine two further questions: whether higher-order structure is a fact about the system or a choice of description, and what data can and cannot tell us about interaction order. Higher-order descriptions remain indispensable when they expose the organizing structure, provide a better mechanistic language, or improve prediction. We close with what should be measured before new phenomena can be claimed, and where higher-order structure already earns its place.","short_abstract":"Group interactions are widespread, and higher-order extensions of familiar models display collective phenomena absent from their pairwise baselines, which are routinely offered as evidence of a distinct higher-order physics. We ask whether that claim survives the test that gives new a precise meaning in statistical phy...","url_abs":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.20759","url_pdf":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.20759v1","authors":"[\"Pablo Villegas\",\"Sandro Meloni\"]","published":"2026-09-17T17:43:17Z","proceeding":"physics.soc-ph","tasks":"[\"physics.soc-ph\",\"cond-mat.stat-mech\"]","methods":"[\"Generative Adversarial Network\"]","has_code":false}