{
  "abstract": "Across biological and social complex systems, models of epidemics or contagions incorporate complexity through network correlations, adaptive behavior, higher-order interactions, or co-circulating strains. Tracking these mechanisms lead to high-dimensional mathematical systems that resist analytical treatment. We show that a broad class of models admits a systematic reduction via fast-variable elimination. The central insight is that complexity can be captured by fast variables equilibrating much faster than the epidemic, leading to ``emergent complex contagion'' where the force of infection depends on prevalence. The epidemic transition follows a universal equation and is continuous or discontinuous whether the force of infection decays or intensifies with prevalence. Our results reveal diverse epidemic models share a common skeleton such that mechanisms that share a characteristic form can be macroscopically indistinguishable.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2610.05467",
  "author_total": 3,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Laurent Hébert-Dufresne"
    },
    {
      "name": "Péter L. Simon"
    },
    {
      "name": "István Z. Kiss"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5tp275r6xjpam.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2610.05467",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "5tp275r6xjpam",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.05467",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "nlin.AO"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "physics.soc-ph"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2739|Mathematical and Theoretical Epidemiology and Ecology Models"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7220651999",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2610.05467",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-04",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5tp275r6xjpam.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:27:01Z",
      "native_id": "2610.05467",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.05467"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:nlin.AO",
      "subfield": "statistical-nonlinear"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Fast-variable reduction to complex contagion unifies epidemic models",
  "title_text": "Fast-variable reduction to complex contagion unifies epidemic models",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:27:01Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5tp275r6xjpam",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}