Response properties of self-improving systems

We observe that a sustained positivity (or negativity) of a system's second-order response will result in a directional change of the system's characteristics under the corresponding random exposure. We identify these changes with improvement (or decline) in the state of a system and introduce the concept of self-improving systems as systems which characteristics can sustainably improve under a random exposure. The resulting framework is of a general phenomenological nature and can be applied to complex systems across different areas of knowledge. (C) 2016 AIP Publishing LLC.