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Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
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Beyond Murray's Law: Non-Universal Branching Exponents from Vessel-Wall Metabolic Costs

Authors: Marchesi, Riccardo;

Beyond Murray's Law: Non-Universal Branching Exponents from Vessel-Wall Metabolic Costs

Abstract

Murray's cubic branching law ($\alpha=3$) predicts a universal diameter scaling exponent for all hierarchical transport networks, yet arterial trees consistently yield $\alpha \approx 2.7$--$2.9$. We show that this discrepancy has a structural origin: Murray's universality is an artifact of his cost function's homogeneity, not a property of biological networks. Incorporating the empirical vessel-wall thickness law $h(r) = c_0 r^p$ ($p\approx0.77$ across mammalian species) introduces a third metabolic cost term $\propto r^{1+p}$ that renders the cost function quasi-homogeneous but not homogeneous. By Cauchy's functional equation, homogeneity is both necessary and sufficient for a universal branching exponent to exist; its absence rigorously implies non-universality. We prove that the resulting scale-dependent exponent satisfies the strict bounds $(5+p)/2 < \alpha^*(Q) < 3$ independently of flow asymmetry (Theorem 4, Corollary 5), that Murray's law is the unique member of this cost-function family admitting a universal exponent (Corollary 6), and that the wall cost strictly breaks Murray's topological degeneracy, bounding the optimal branching number to small finite integers and excluding star-like topologies; binary bifurcation emerges as the physiologically selected minimum under additional steric constraints detailed in Theorem 10. The non-universality is structurally stable: it persists under generation-dependent wall scaling, active smooth-muscle tone, and non-Newtonian viscosity corrections. Parameter-free evaluation yields $\alpha^* \in [2.90, 2.94]$ for porcine coronary arteries---within $1$--$1.2\sigma$ of the morphometric value $2.70 \pm 0.20$, reducing the gap from Murray's cubic law by one third. The predicted bifurcation angle bound 74.9◦ < 2θ∗ < 80.2◦ is independently confirmed by three-dimensional coronary morphometry, with no parameters fitted to angle data. The residual gap between the static prediction and the empirical mean points to the role of pulsatile wave dynamics as a complementary architectural constraint beyond the static cost function analyzed here.

Keywords

optimal branching number, Biophysics, vascular networks, Fluid Mechanics, bifurcation angle, metabolic cost function, transport network optimization, non-universality, Vascular Biology, FOS: Mathematics, scale-dependent exponent, wall-thickness scaling, branching exponents, Network Theory, Murray's law, Mathematical Physics

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
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