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Search Results (544)

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26 pages, 4477 KB  
Article
Robust Multi-Objective Optimization of Ore-Drawing Process Using the OGOOSE Algorithm Under an ε-Constraint Framework
by Chuanchuan Cai, Junzhi Chen, Chunfang Ren, Chaolin Xiong, Qiangyi Liu and Changyao He
Symmetry 2026, 18(2), 254; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym18020254 - 30 Jan 2026
Viewed by 60
Abstract
To address the complex multi-objective optimization problem of “cost–risk–recovery–dilution” in sublevel caving without bottom pillars under uncertainty, this study develops an operational GOOSE-based framework (OGOOSE) integrated with robust ε-constraint modeling. Methodologically, OGOOSE adopts three synergistic mechanisms: Opposition-Based Learning (OBL) for enhanced initial solution [...] Read more.
To address the complex multi-objective optimization problem of “cost–risk–recovery–dilution” in sublevel caving without bottom pillars under uncertainty, this study develops an operational GOOSE-based framework (OGOOSE) integrated with robust ε-constraint modeling. Methodologically, OGOOSE adopts three synergistic mechanisms: Opposition-Based Learning (OBL) for enhanced initial solution quality and spatial coverage symmetry, an Adaptive Inertia Weight (AIW) mechanism to maintain a symmetrical balance between exploration and exploitation, and a Boundary Reflection Mechanism (BRM) to ensure engineering feasibility. For modeling, an “ellipsoid-plane” geometric surrogate is employed, where the ellipsoid’s structural symmetry serves as the ideal baseline, while the Mean-CVaR criterion quantifies the asymmetry of operational risk (negative tail) under uncertainty. Taking robust cost (C) as the primary objective, the four-objective problem is decomposed via the ϵ-constraint method to enforce a balanced Pareto trade-off. Results demonstrate that OGOOSE significantly outperforms GOOSE, WOA, and HHO on CEC2017 benchmarks, achieving the lowest Friedman rank. In the engineering case study, it attains an average dilution rate of 28.95% (the lowest among comparators) without increasing unit cost or compromising recovery, demonstrating stable operational symmetry across economic and quality indicators. Sensitivity analysis of the ε-thresholds identifies an optimal “knee-point” that establishes a manageable balance between risk control (εR) and dilution limits (εP). OGOOSE effectively balances accuracy, stability, and interpretability, providing a robust tool for stabilizing complex mining systems against inherent operational asymmetry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Computer)
27 pages, 1312 KB  
Article
Research on Multi-Objective Optimization Problem of Logistics Distribution Considering Customer Hierarchy
by Jinghua Zhang, Wenqiang Yang, Yonggang Chen and Guanghua Chen
Symmetry 2026, 18(2), 235; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym18020235 - 28 Jan 2026
Viewed by 83
Abstract
In the service-oriented modern society, logistics enterprises focusing solely on cost minimization can no longer meet market demands, as customers place greater emphasis on timely delivery and service satisfaction. Therefore, this paper constructs a multi-objective optimization model that simultaneously minimizes distribution costs and [...] Read more.
In the service-oriented modern society, logistics enterprises focusing solely on cost minimization can no longer meet market demands, as customers place greater emphasis on timely delivery and service satisfaction. Therefore, this paper constructs a multi-objective optimization model that simultaneously minimizes distribution costs and hierarchical customer delivery duration. From the perspective of symmetry, the two objectives form a symmetric complementary system, which reflects the mutually restrictive and trade-off relationship between the two objectives, thereby facilitating the achievement of a balance between enterprise benefits and customer satisfaction. An improved multi-objective grey wolf optimizer (IMOGWO) is proposed to solve the model, incorporating a chaotic mapping initialization mechanism, a cosine nonlinear convergence factor, and a learning factor-based hunting mechanism to enhance global optimization capability. The algorithm’s effectiveness is validated through comparisons on benchmark cases. Applied to a Zhengzhou food company, the solution improved distribution efficiency while prioritizing key clients, thereby enhancing service levels and stabilizing important customer relationships, providing a practical reference for logistics enterprises to increase revenue and undergo digital transformation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Mathematics)
13 pages, 2187 KB  
Article
Inverse Design of Chessboard Metasurface for Broadband Monostatic RCS Reduction Based on CNN-KAN with Attention Mechanism
by Shuang Zeng, Shi Pu, Haoda Xia, Quanshi Qin and Ning Xu
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(3), 1320; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16031320 - 28 Jan 2026
Viewed by 83
Abstract
An efficient deep-learning-based framework for optimization-based inverse design of electromagnetic metasurface design is proposed in this paper. A novel unit-cell parameterization strategy generates 16-element structures via symmetry operations governed by ten geometric parameters, overcoming the inefficiencies of pixel-based representations. A dataset of 16,000 [...] Read more.
An efficient deep-learning-based framework for optimization-based inverse design of electromagnetic metasurface design is proposed in this paper. A novel unit-cell parameterization strategy generates 16-element structures via symmetry operations governed by ten geometric parameters, overcoming the inefficiencies of pixel-based representations. A dataset of 16,000 parameter–reflection phase pairs is constructed, and a hybrid model combining Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), attention mechanisms, and the Kolmogorov–Arnold Network (KAN) is developed for broadband response prediction. The coefficient of determination (R2) of the proposed model is 0.8837 in the 2–18 GHz band, which is 44.87% higher than the R2 without KAN. The proposed chessboard metasurface achieves a 10 dB monostatic radar cross-section (RCS) reduction under normal incidence over a wide frequency band from 7.4 to 15.2 GHz, corresponding to a relative bandwidth of 69%. This approach provides a generalizable, data-efficient solution for intelligent metasurface design. Full article
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17 pages, 1588 KB  
Article
Principal Component Analysis of Gait Continuous Relative Phase (CRP): Uncovering Lower Limb Coordination Biomarkers for Functional Disability in Older Adults
by Juliana Moreira, Leonel A. T. Alves, Rúben Oliveira-Sousa, Márcia Castro, Rubim Santos and Andreia S. P. Sousa
Symmetry 2026, 18(2), 228; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym18020228 - 27 Jan 2026
Viewed by 223
Abstract
Symmetry in gait coordination reflects the balanced timing and movement between lower limb joints, which are essential for efficient locomotion and functional independence in older adults. Although gait coordination is recognized as a key indicator of aging-related adaptations and functional decline, most studies [...] Read more.
Symmetry in gait coordination reflects the balanced timing and movement between lower limb joints, which are essential for efficient locomotion and functional independence in older adults. Although gait coordination is recognized as a key indicator of aging-related adaptations and functional decline, most studies rely on isolated measures without fully addressing symmetry in intra- and interlimb coordination. This study aimed to identify principal components of gait coordination symmetry and their association with functional disability in older adults. A cross-sectional study assessed 60 community-dwelling older adults (60+), stratified by functional disability (35 non-disabled; 25 disabled). The three-dimensional range of motion of lower limb joints was assessed during the gait cycle using an optoelectronic system. Intra- and intersegmental coordination was assessed by the continuous relative phase (CRP), a nonlinear measure that captures both timing and movement relationships between joint angles. Principal component analysis was applied to CRP means and coefficients-of-variation (CV) to identify key coordination principal components (PC). Of eight PC explaining 78.86% of variance, only the PC1 distinguished disability status (p = 0.007, d = 0.66). This component included sagittal-plane intrasegmental CRP mean and CV for the knee–ankle and hip–ankle. This study is novel in combining CRP-derived measures of intra- and interlimb symmetry with principal component analysis to distinguish functional disability in older adults. The findings indicate that sagittal-plane intrasegmental CRP symmetry may serve a relevant biomarker of gait impairment. By linking kinematic coordination features to functional disability, this approach complements clinical assessments and supports early identification of mobility decline in older adults. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Life Sciences)
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4 pages, 194 KB  
Reply
Reply to Pugnaloni et al. Comment on “Othman et al. Ventricular Topology in Congenital Heart Defects Associated with Heterotaxy: Can We Find Patterns Reflecting the Syndrome-Specific Tendency for Visceral Symmetry? J. Cardiovasc. Dev. Dis. 2025, 12, 430”
by Jörg Männer and Talat Mesud Yelbuz
J. Cardiovasc. Dev. Dis. 2026, 13(2), 68; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcdd13020068 - 27 Jan 2026
Viewed by 131
Abstract
We greatly appreciate the thoughtful and detailed comments provided by Bruno Marino and his colleagues [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Pediatric Cardiology and Congenital Heart Disease)
3 pages, 201 KB  
Comment
Comment on Othman et al. Ventricular Topology in Congenital Heart Defects Associated with Heterotaxy: Can We Find Patterns Reflecting the Syndrome-Specific Tendency for Visceral Symmetry? J. Cardiovasc. Dev. Dis. 2025, 12, 430
by Flaminia Pugnaloni, Giulio Calcagni and Bruno Marino
J. Cardiovasc. Dev. Dis. 2026, 13(2), 67; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcdd13020067 - 27 Jan 2026
Viewed by 99
Abstract
We read with great interest the recent and important paper by Othman et al [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Pediatric Cardiology and Congenital Heart Disease)
18 pages, 2796 KB  
Article
Leveraging Distributional Symmetry in Credit Card Fraud Detection via Conditional Tabular GAN Augmentation and LightGBM
by Cichen Wang, Can Xie and Jialiang Li
Symmetry 2026, 18(2), 224; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym18020224 - 27 Jan 2026
Viewed by 129
Abstract
Credit card fraud detection remains a major challenge due to extreme class imbalance and evolving attack patterns. This paper proposes a practical hybrid pipeline that combines conditional tabular generative adversarial networks (CTGANs) for targeted minority-class synthesis with Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LightGBM) for [...] Read more.
Credit card fraud detection remains a major challenge due to extreme class imbalance and evolving attack patterns. This paper proposes a practical hybrid pipeline that combines conditional tabular generative adversarial networks (CTGANs) for targeted minority-class synthesis with Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LightGBM) for classification. Inspired by symmetry principles in machine learning, we leverage the adversarial equilibrium of CTGAN to generate realistic fraudulent transactions that maintain distributional symmetry with real fraud patterns, thereby preserving the structural and statistical balance of the original dataset. Synthetic fraud samples are merged with real data to form augmented training sets that restore the symmetry of class representation. We evaluate Simple Recurrent Neural Network (RNN), Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) classifiers, and a LightGBM model on a public dataset using stratified 5-fold validation and an independent hold-out test set. Models are compared using sensitivity, precision, F-measure(F1), and area under the precision–recall curve (PR-AUC), which reflects symmetry between detection and false-alarm trade-offs. Results show that CTGAN-based augmentation yields large and consistent gains across architectures. The best-performing configuration, CTGAN + LightGBM, attains sensitivity = 0.986, precision = 0.982, F1 = 0.984, and PR-AUC = 0.918 on the test data, substantially outperforming non-augmented baselines and recent methods. These findings indicate that conditional synthetic augmentation materially improves the detection of rare fraud modes while preserving low false-alarm rates, demonstrating the value of symmetry-aware data synthesis in classification under imbalance. We discuss generation-quality checks, risk of distributional shift, and deployment considerations. Future work will explore alternative generative models with explicit symmetry constraints and time-aware production evaluation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Computer)
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17 pages, 780 KB  
Article
A Method for the Analysis of the Symmetry of Excited States from GW-BSE
by Mohammad Maymoun, Marah Jamil Alrahamneh, Alessio Saccomani, Iogann Tolbatov and Paolo Umari
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2026, 27(2), 1062; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27021062 - 21 Jan 2026
Viewed by 126
Abstract
We present a method for analyzing the symmetries of excited states previously calculated with the popular GW-BSE approach. These are expressed through the Tamm-Dancoff approximation using the so-called batches representation. The method allows to establish how an excited state is transformed by symmetry [...] Read more.
We present a method for analyzing the symmetries of excited states previously calculated with the popular GW-BSE approach. These are expressed through the Tamm-Dancoff approximation using the so-called batches representation. The method allows to establish how an excited state is transformed by symmetry operators as plane-reflection, proper and improper axis-rotation, point-inversions. It can also report if an excited state is eigen-state of an angular momentum operator. This permits the assignment to an irreducible representation of the underlying symmetry group and a prompt labeling of the GW-BSE states. We show results for a significant set of small molecules. Our approach can be easily extended to TD-DFT and can be used to probe the local environment of localized excitations. Full article
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14 pages, 3259 KB  
Article
Design of Circularly Polarized VCSEL Based on Cascaded Chiral GaAs Metasurface
by Xiaoming Wang, Bo Cheng, Yuxiao Zou, Guofeng Song, Kunpeng Zhai and Fuchun Sun
Photonics 2026, 13(1), 87; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics13010087 - 19 Jan 2026
Viewed by 155
Abstract
Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) have shown great potential in high-speed communication, quantum information processing, and 3D sensing due to their excellent beam quality and low power consumption. However, generating high-purity and controllable circularly polarized light usually requires external optical components such [...] Read more.
Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) have shown great potential in high-speed communication, quantum information processing, and 3D sensing due to their excellent beam quality and low power consumption. However, generating high-purity and controllable circularly polarized light usually requires external optical components such as quarter-wave plates, which undoubtedly increases system complexity and volume, hindering chip-level integration. To address this issue, we propose a monolithic integration scheme that directly integrates a custom-designed double-layer asymmetric metasurface onto the upper distributed Bragg reflector of a chiral VCSEL. This metasurface consists of a rotated GaAs elliptical nanocolumn array and an anisotropic grating above it. By precisely controlling the relative orientation between the two, the in-plane symmetry of the structure is effectively broken, introducing a significant optical chirality response at a wavelength of 1550 nm. Numerical simulations show that this structure can achieve a near 100% high reflectivity for the left circularly polarized light (LCP), while suppressing the reflectivity of the right circularly polarized light (RCP) to approximately 33%, thereby obtaining an efficient in-cavity circular polarization selection function. Based on this, the proposed VCSEL can directly emit high-purity RCP without any external polarization control components. This compact circularly polarized laser source provides a key solution for achieving the next generation of highly integrated photonic chips and will have a profound impact on frontier fields such as spin optics, secure communication, and chip-level quantum light sources. Full article
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22 pages, 17928 KB  
Article
GRASS: Glass Reflection Artifact Suppression Strategy via Virtual Point Removal in LiDAR Point Clouds
by Wanpeng Shao, Yu Zhang, Yifei Xue, Tie Ji and Yizhen Lao
Remote Sens. 2026, 18(2), 332; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs18020332 - 19 Jan 2026
Viewed by 184
Abstract
In building measurement using terrestrial laser scanners (TLSs), acquired 3D point clouds (3DPCs) often contain significant reflection artifacts caused by reflective glass surfaces. Such reflection artifacts significantly degrade the performance of downstream applications. This study proposes a novel strategy, called GRASS, to remove [...] Read more.
In building measurement using terrestrial laser scanners (TLSs), acquired 3D point clouds (3DPCs) often contain significant reflection artifacts caused by reflective glass surfaces. Such reflection artifacts significantly degrade the performance of downstream applications. This study proposes a novel strategy, called GRASS, to remove these reflection artifacts. Specifically, candidate glass points are identified based on multi-echo returns caused by glass components. These potential glass regions are then refined through planar segmentation using geometric constraints. Then, we trace laser beam trajectories to identify the reflection affected zones based on the estimated glass planes and scanner positions. Finally, reflection artifacts are identified using dual criteria: (1) Reflection symmetry between artifacts and their source entities across glass components. (2) Geometric similarity through a 3D deep neural network. We evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed solution across a variety of 3DPC datasets and demonstrate that the method can reliably estimate multiple glass regions and accurately identify virtual points. Furthermore, both qualitative and quantitative evaluations confirm that GRASS outperforms existing methods in removing reflection artifacts by a significant margin. Full article
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25 pages, 541 KB  
Hypothesis
Structural Reparameterization of the Complex Variable s and the Fixation of the Critical Line
by Shane Drake
Mathematics 2026, 14(2), 318; https://doi.org/10.3390/math14020318 - 16 Jan 2026
Viewed by 157
Abstract
This paper explains why the critical line sits at the real part equal to one-half by treating it as an intrinsic boundary of a reparametrized complex plane (“z-space”), not a mere artifact of functional symmetry. In z-space the real part [...] Read more.
This paper explains why the critical line sits at the real part equal to one-half by treating it as an intrinsic boundary of a reparametrized complex plane (“z-space”), not a mere artifact of functional symmetry. In z-space the real part is defined by a geometric-series map that gives rise to a rulebook for admissible analytic operations. Within this setting we rederive the classical toolkit—the eta–zeta relation, Gamma reflection and duplication, theta–Mellin identity, functional equation, and the completed zeta—without importing analytic continuation from the usual s-variable. We show that access to the left half-plane occurs entirely through formulas written on the right, with boundary matching only along the line with the real part equal to one-half. A global Hadamard product confirms the consistency and fixed location of this boundary, and a holomorphic change of variables transports these conclusions into the classical setting. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section C4: Complex Analysis)
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11 pages, 259 KB  
Article
Morphological Asymmetries and Their Relationship to Judo-Specific Performance in Youth Judokas
by Jožef Šimenko and Primož Pori
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(2), 894; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16020894 - 15 Jan 2026
Viewed by 184
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine morphological asymmetries in male youth judokas using an integrated assessment combining three-dimensional (3D) body scanning and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), and to determine how these asymmetries relate to judo-specific performance. Twenty-seven competitive male youth judokas [...] Read more.
The purpose of this study was to examine morphological asymmetries in male youth judokas using an integrated assessment combining three-dimensional (3D) body scanning and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), and to determine how these asymmetries relate to judo-specific performance. Twenty-seven competitive male youth judokas were evaluated for bilateral girth, segmental length, and lean mass asymmetries across upper- and lower-limb segments. The Absolute Asymmetry index, expressed as a percentage for individual body segments, and the average body symmetry across all variables were calculated, and associations with performance were assessed using the Special Judo Fitness Test (SJFT). Significant right-dominant asymmetries were found in elbow girth p < 0.001, forearm girth p < 0.001, thigh girth p = 0.028, and leg muscle mass p = 0.008. Upper-limb asymmetries were the primary contributors to total-body asymmetry, reflecting the unilateral gripping and rotational demands typical in judo. Only calf girth asymmetry was significantly associated with SJFT performance, with greater asymmetry linked to poorer outcomes, indicating a specific rather than general asymmetry–performance relationship (r = 0.405; p = 0.037). These findings underscore the importance of early detection of segment-specific asymmetries and suggest that rapid digital anthropometry is a practical tool for monitoring morphological development in youth judokas. Early targeted interventions may support balanced technical execution, enhance performance, and reduce the risk of uneven loading patterns as athletes progress to higher age categories and competition levels. Full article
8 pages, 248 KB  
Article
Fermi Sea Topology and Boundary Geometry for Free Particles in One- and Two-Dimensional Lattices
by Guillermo R. Zemba
Mathematics 2026, 14(2), 303; https://doi.org/10.3390/math14020303 - 15 Jan 2026
Viewed by 167
Abstract
Free gases of spinless fermions moving on a lattice-symmetric geometric background are considered. Their topological properties at zero temperature can be used to classify their Fermi seas and associated boundaries. The flat orbifolds Rd/Γ, where Γ is the crystallographic [...] Read more.
Free gases of spinless fermions moving on a lattice-symmetric geometric background are considered. Their topological properties at zero temperature can be used to classify their Fermi seas and associated boundaries. The flat orbifolds Rd/Γ, where Γ is the crystallographic group of symmetry in d-dimensional momentum space, are used to accomplish this task. Two topological classes exist for d=1: an interval, which is identified as a conductor, and a circumference, which corresponds to an insulator. The number of topological classes increases to 17 for d=2: 8 have the topology of a disk, that are generally recognized as conductors, and 4 correspond to a two-sphere, matching insulators. Both sets eventually contain a finite number of conical singularities and reflection corners at the boundaries. The remaining cases in the listing relate to conductors (annulus, Möbius strip) and insulators (two-torus, real projective plane, Klein bottle). Examples that fall under this list are given, along with physical interpretations of the singularities. It is anticipated that the findings of this classification will be robust under perturbative interactions due to its topological character. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effective Field Theories for Condensed Matter and Statistical Systems)
16 pages, 452 KB  
Article
Empathetic Response Generation via Reinforcement Learning with Empathy Level Alignment and Semantic Relevance
by Jinfeng Cheng, Zongli Jiang, Zhiyuan Chen and Danjie Han
Symmetry 2026, 18(1), 148; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym18010148 - 13 Jan 2026
Viewed by 280
Abstract
Humans often express empathy toward others in daily conversations, and exploring ways to respond empathetically is a crucial step in building human-like dialogue systems. Psychological theories hold that empathy mainly consists of two aspects: affection and cognition. However, previous approaches fail to adequately [...] Read more.
Humans often express empathy toward others in daily conversations, and exploring ways to respond empathetically is a crucial step in building human-like dialogue systems. Psychological theories hold that empathy mainly consists of two aspects: affection and cognition. However, previous approaches fail to adequately integrate these two aspects, which could lead to inappropriate responses. To address this issue, we propose a reinforcement learning method that integrates empathy level alignment and semantic relevance (RLES) for empathetic response generation. RLES is primarily divided into two stages: fine-tuning the pre-trained T5 model during the supervised learning stage, and then further training the fine-tuned T5 model during the reinforcement learning stage. Specifically, during the supervised learning stage, we fine-tune the pre-trained T5 model to improve its adaptability in empathetic dialogue scenarios. During the reinforcement learning stage, we first initialize the policy with the fine-tuned T5 model. Then, a reward model was designed by incorporating empathy level alignment and semantic relevance from the perspectives of affective and cognitive empathy, respectively. This design reflects a balanced symmetry between the affective and cognitive aspects of empathy in their contributions to the final reward. Finally, the PPO algorithm was used to further train the fine-tuned T5 model, enabling it to generate empathetic responses by maximizing the expected reward. Extensive experimental results on a benchmark dataset demonstrate that RLES outperforms the baselines in both automatic and human evaluations and can generate more empathetic and semantically relevant responses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Computer)
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30 pages, 3247 KB  
Article
The Clausius–Mossotti Factor in Dielectrophoresis: A Critical Appraisal of Its Proposed Role as an ‘Electrophysiology Rosetta Stone’
by Ronald Pethig
Micromachines 2026, 17(1), 96; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi17010096 - 11 Jan 2026
Viewed by 471
Abstract
The Clausius–Mossotti (CM) factor underpins the theoretical description of dielectrophoresis (DEP) and is widely used in micro- and nano-scale systems for frequency-dependent particle and cell manipulation. It has further been proposed as an “electrophysiology Rosetta Stone” capable of linking DEP spectra to intrinsic [...] Read more.
The Clausius–Mossotti (CM) factor underpins the theoretical description of dielectrophoresis (DEP) and is widely used in micro- and nano-scale systems for frequency-dependent particle and cell manipulation. It has further been proposed as an “electrophysiology Rosetta Stone” capable of linking DEP spectra to intrinsic cellular electrical properties. In this paper, the mathematical foundations and interpretive limits of this proposal are critically examined. By analyzing contrast factors derived from Laplace’s equation across multiple physical domains, it is shown that the CM functional form is a universal consequence of geometry, material contrast, and boundary conditions in linear Laplacian fields, rather than a feature unique to biological systems. Key modelling assumptions relevant to DEP are reassessed. Deviations from spherical symmetry lead naturally to tensorial contrast factors through geometry-dependent depolarisation coefficients. Complex, frequency-dependent CM factors and associated relaxation times are shown to inevitably arise from the coexistence of dissipative and storage mechanisms under time-varying forcing, independent of particle composition. Membrane surface charge influences DEP response through modified interfacial boundary conditions and effective transport parameters, rather than by introducing an independent driving mechanism. These results indicate that DEP spectra primarily reflect boundary-controlled field–particle coupling. From an inverse-problem perspective, this places fundamental constraints on parameter identifiability in DEP-based characterization. The CM factor remains a powerful and general modelling tool for micromachines and microfluidic systems, but its interpretive scope must be understood within the limits imposed by Laplacian field theory. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Electrokinetics for Cell Sorting and Analysis)
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