Paper Detail

A Semantic Geometry for Uncovering Paradigm Dynamics via Scientific Publications

Jinchang Liu, Qingshan Zhou, Hongkan Chen, Yi Bu

arxiv Score 11.5

Published 2026-04-16 · First seen 2026-04-17

Research Track A

Abstract

Science advances not only by accumulating discovered patterns but by changing how new problems and solutions are expressed. While structural indicators track scholarly attention, they offer only an indirect proxy for the reorganization of meaning. We propose a semantic geometry based on the R-P-C (references, focal publication, and citing publications) framework to quantify how a publication positions itself relative to its knowledge base and diffusion. This geometry identifies three publication types: consolidating, exploratory and balanced. Our results show that the semantic similarity and distance between a publication's knowledge base and diffusion serve as a mechanistic explanation for disruption, with novelty (atypical reference combinations) acting as an antecedent disturbance that triggers a semantic rupture. This is related to team size, where small teams preserve a higher potential for exploratory departures while large collaborations systematically align with paradigmatic consolidation. Crucially, this geometry explains why citation trajectories differ; consolidating research earns rapid recognition by lowering comprehension costs, while exploratory work faces high paradigm conversion costs that result in slower, more selective diffusion. Collectively, this R-P-C framework provides a robust instrument for monitoring the dynamic of scientific paradigms.

Workflow Status

Review status
pending
Role
unreviewed
Read priority
now
Vote
Not set.
Saved
no
Collections
Not filed yet.
Next action
Not filled yet.

Reading Brief

No structured notes yet. Add `summary_sections`, `why_relevant`, `claim_impact`, or `next_action` in `papers.jsonl` to enrich this view.

Why It Surfaced

No ranking explanation is available yet.

Tags

No tags.

BibTeX

@article{liu2026semantic,
  title = {A Semantic Geometry for Uncovering Paradigm Dynamics via Scientific Publications},
  author = {Jinchang Liu and Qingshan Zhou and Hongkan Chen and Yi Bu},
  year = {2026},
  abstract = {Science advances not only by accumulating discovered patterns but by changing how new problems and solutions are expressed. While structural indicators track scholarly attention, they offer only an indirect proxy for the reorganization of meaning. We propose a semantic geometry based on the R-P-C (references, focal publication, and citing publications) framework to quantify how a publication positions itself relative to its knowledge base and diffusion. This geometry identifies three publication},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.15150},
  keywords = {cs.DL},
  eprint = {2604.15150},
  archiveprefix = {arXiv},
}

Metadata

{}