This work presents a conditional dual-metric framework for analyzing stability loss in multivariate dynamical systems approaching critical transitions. Classical early warning signals based on critical slowing down (e.g., variance and lag-1 autocorrelation) are theoretically grounded for low-dimensional systems with uniform slowing, but may fail to capture structural changes in high-dimensional systems. The proposed framework separates two distinct processes: (i) the geometric organization of state-space fluctuations, and (ii) the system’s responsiveness to external perturbations. Structural properties are quantified by the effective rank of the empirical covariance matrix, expressed as the exponential Shannon entropy of its normalized eigenvalue spectrum. This quantity captures spectral concentration and is shown to be non-redundant with scalar indicators under asymmetric mode compression. Dynamic responsiveness is defined via the H₂ norm of an empirically estimated input–output transfer function, measuring the total energy of system response across frequencies. A composite indicator, defined as the ratio of responsiveness to structural dimensionality, is introduced under a Structural–Dynamic Separability (SDS) condition requiring independent estimation and approximate causal independence of the two components. Analytical results derived for multivariate Ornstein–Uhlenbeck systems demonstrate that the composite indicator does not exhibit a universal monotonic trend near bifurcation. Instead, its behavior depends on the relative rates of structural compression and responsiveness change, as well as on the alignment between external inputs and the system’s critical dynamical mode. The framework is explicitly restricted to systems near fold-type bifurcations with identifiable external inputs and excludes noise-induced, rate-induced, and Hopf-type transitions from its domain of validity. No empirical performance claims are made. A pre-registered falsification protocol is provided to enable rigorous future testing. critical transitions early warning signals multivariate dynamical systems spectral entropy effective rank covariance structure input–output systems H2 norm Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process system stability high-dimensional systems regime shifts
This study presents a conceptual analysis of the long-term transformation and functional displacement of the European knight system (c. 800–1500 CE) using the Compression–Resonance Thermodynamic Index (CRTI) framework. The CRTI formalizes system viability as a ratio between adaptive capacity R(t) and structural compression \Phi(t), expressed as T(t) = R(t) / \Phi(t). Structural compression is defined as the accumulation of constraints reducing the effective degrees of freedom available to the system, while adaptive capacity captures the system’s ability to respond to technological, institutional, and environmental change. The knight system is treated as a long-duration socio-technical system integrating military technology, institutional organization, and normative structures. Historical processes—including feudal lock-in, economic dependency on land-based revenue, technological inertia of heavy cavalry, and normative rigidity—are interpreted as drivers of increasing structural compression. Concurrently, declining responsiveness to infantry tactics, gunpowder technologies, and centralized military reorganization is interpreted as a reduction in adaptive capacity. All trajectories of \Phi(t), R(t), and T(t) are explicitly schematic and qualitative. No empirical calibration, parameter estimation, or time-series analysis is performed. The mapping of historical processes onto CRTI variables is interpretive and does not establish causal relationships. The analysis is positioned as hypothesis-generating rather than hypothesis-confirming. It proposes that long-term system viability may be understood as the balance between constraint accumulation and adaptive response capacity, complementing existing approaches to collapse dynamics such as diminishing returns on complexity (Tainter), adaptive cycles (Holling), and critical transitions (Scheffer et al.). Potential applicability to other socio-technical systems—such as infrastructure networks, industrial regimes, or institutional organizations—is discussed, with emphasis on the need for domain-specific operationalization and empirical validation. structural compression adaptive capacity complex adaptive systems collapse dynamics early warning signals socio-technical systems CRTI framework