A Space of Phylogenetic Networks

Abstract: A classic problem in computational biology is constructing a phylogenetic tree given a set of distances between n species. In most cases, a tree structure is too constraining. We consider a circular split network, a generalization of a tree in which multiple parallel edges signify divergence. A geometric space of such networks is introduced, forming a natural extension of the work by Billera, Holmes, and Vogtmann on tree space. We explore properties of this space, and show a natural embedding of the compactification of the real moduli space of curves within it.