76,384 research outputs found
Exact maximum-likelihood method to detect patterns in real networks
In order to detect patterns in real networks, randomized graph ensembles that preserve only part of the topology of an observed network are systematically used as fundamental null models. However, their generation is still problematic. The existing approaches are either computationally demanding and beyond analytic control, or analytically accessible but highly approximate. Here we propose a solution to this long-standing problem by introducing an exact and fast method that allows to obtain expectation values and standard deviations of any topological property analytically, for any binary, weighted, directed or undirected network. Remarkably, the time required to obtain the expectation value of any property is as short as that required to compute the same property on the single original network. Our method reveals that the null behavior of various correlation properties is different from what previously believed, and highly sensitive to the particular network considered. Moreover, our approach shows that important structural properties (such as the modularity used in community detection problems) are currently based on incorrect expressions, and provides the exact quantities that should replace them.
Analytical maximum-likelihood method to detect patterns in real networks
In order to detect patterns in real networks, randomized graph ensembles that
preserve only part of the topology of an observed network are systematically
used as fundamental null models. However, their generation is still
problematic. The existing approaches are either computationally demanding and
beyond analytic control, or analytically accessible but highly approximate.
Here we propose a solution to this long-standing problem by introducing an
exact and fast method that allows to obtain expectation values and standard
deviations of any topological property analytically, for any binary, weighted,
directed or undirected network. Remarkably, the time required to obtain the
expectation value of any property is as short as that required to compute the
same property on the single original network. Our method reveals that the null
behavior of various correlation properties is different from what previously
believed, and highly sensitive to the particular network considered. Moreover,
our approach shows that important structural properties (such as the modularity
used in community detection problems) are currently based on incorrect
expressions, and provides the exact quantities that should replace them.Comment: 26 pages, 10 figure
Unbiased sampling of network ensembles
Sampling random graphs with given properties is a key step in the analysis of
networks, as random ensembles represent basic null models required to identify
patterns such as communities and motifs. An important requirement is that the
sampling process is unbiased and efficient. The main approaches are
microcanonical, i.e. they sample graphs that match the enforced constraints
exactly. Unfortunately, when applied to strongly heterogeneous networks (like
most real-world examples), the majority of these approaches become biased
and/or time-consuming. Moreover, the algorithms defined in the simplest cases,
such as binary graphs with given degrees, are not easily generalizable to more
complicated ensembles. Here we propose a solution to the problem via the
introduction of a "Maximize and Sample" ("Max & Sam" for short) method to
correctly sample ensembles of networks where the constraints are `soft', i.e.
realized as ensemble averages. Our method is based on exact maximum-entropy
distributions and is therefore unbiased by construction, even for strongly
heterogeneous networks. It is also more computationally efficient than most
microcanonical alternatives. Finally, it works for both binary and weighted
networks with a variety of constraints, including combined degree-strength
sequences and full reciprocity structure, for which no alternative method
exists. Our canonical approach can in principle be turned into an unbiased
microcanonical one, via a restriction to the relevant subset. Importantly, the
analysis of the fluctuations of the constraints suggests that the
microcanonical and canonical versions of all the ensembles considered here are
not equivalent. We show various real-world applications and provide a code
implementing all our algorithms.Comment: MatLab code available at
http://www.mathworks.it/matlabcentral/fileexchange/46912-max-sam-package-zi
Triadic motifs and dyadic self-organization in the World Trade Network
In self-organizing networks, topology and dynamics coevolve in a continuous
feedback, without exogenous driving. The World Trade Network (WTN) is one of
the few empirically well documented examples of self-organizing networks: its
topology strongly depends on the GDP of world countries, which in turn depends
on the structure of trade. Therefore, understanding which are the key
topological properties of the WTN that deviate from randomness provides direct
empirical information about the structural effects of self-organization. Here,
using an analytical pattern-detection method that we have recently proposed, we
study the occurrence of triadic "motifs" (subgraphs of three vertices) in the
WTN between 1950 and 2000. We find that, unlike other properties, motifs are
not explained by only the in- and out-degree sequences. By contrast, they are
completely explained if also the numbers of reciprocal edges are taken into
account. This implies that the self-organization process underlying the
evolution of the WTN is almost completely encoded into the dyadic structure,
which strongly depends on reciprocity.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures; Best Paper Award at the 6th International
Conference on Self-Organizing Systems, Delft, The Netherlands, 15-16/03/201
Mixture models and exploratory analysis in networks
Networks are widely used in the biological, physical, and social sciences as
a concise mathematical representation of the topology of systems of interacting
components. Understanding the structure of these networks is one of the
outstanding challenges in the study of complex systems. Here we describe a
general technique for detecting structural features in large-scale network data
which works by dividing the nodes of a network into classes such that the
members of each class have similar patterns of connection to other nodes. Using
the machinery of probabilistic mixture models and the expectation-maximization
algorithm, we show that it is possible to detect, without prior knowledge of
what we are looking for, a very broad range of types of structure in networks.
We give a number of examples demonstrating how the method can be used to shed
light on the properties of real-world networks, including social and
information networks.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, two new examples in this version plus minor
correction
An efficient and principled method for detecting communities in networks
A fundamental problem in the analysis of network data is the detection of
network communities, groups of densely interconnected nodes, which may be
overlapping or disjoint. Here we describe a method for finding overlapping
communities based on a principled statistical approach using generative network
models. We show how the method can be implemented using a fast, closed-form
expectation-maximization algorithm that allows us to analyze networks of
millions of nodes in reasonable running times. We test the method both on
real-world networks and on synthetic benchmarks and find that it gives results
competitive with previous methods. We also show that the same approach can be
used to extract nonoverlapping community divisions via a relaxation method, and
demonstrate that the algorithm is competitively fast and accurate for the
nonoverlapping problem.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, 1 tabl
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