Expected and minimal values of a universal tree balance index.

ABSTRACT: Although the analysis of rooted tree shape has wide-ranging applications, notions of tree balance have developed independently in different domains. In computer science, a balanced tree is one that enables efficient updating and retrieval of data, whereas in biology tree balance quantifies bias in evolutionary processes. The lack of a precise connection between these concepts has stymied the development of universal indices and general results. We recently introduced a new tree balance index, $J^1$, that, unlike prior indices popular among biologists, permits meaningful comparison of trees with arbitrary degree distributions and node sizes. Here we explain how our new index generalizes a concept that underlies the definition of the weight-balanced tree, an important type of self-balancing

SUBMITTER: Manojlovic V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12265486 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature