Diffusion dynamics in multiplex networks can model a diverse number of real-world processes. In some specific configurations of these systems, the super-diffusion phenomenon arises, in which the diffusion is faster in the multiplex network than in any of its layers. Many studies attempt to characterize this phenomenon by examining its dependency on structural properties of the network, such as overlap, average degree, network dissimilarity, and others. While certain properties show a correlation with super-diffusion in specific networks, a broader characterization is still missing. Here, we introduce a structural parameter based on the minimum node strength that effectively predicts the occurrence of super-diffusion in multiplex networks. Additionally, we propose a novel framework for deriving analytical bounds for several multiplex networks structures. Finally, we analyze and justify why certain arrangements of the inter-layer connections induce super-diffusion. These findings provide novel insights into the super-diffusion phenomenon and the interplay between network structure and dynamics.
Network robustness is a central point in network science, both from a theoretical and a practical point of view. In this paper, we show that layer degradation, understood as the continuous or discrete loss of links' weight, triggers a structural transition revealed by an abrupt change in the algebraic connectivity of the graph. Unlike traditional single layer networks, multiplex networks exist in two phases, one in which the system is protected from link failures in some of its layers and one in which all the system senses the failure happening in one single layer. We also give the exact criti…
Universal spectral properties of multiplex networks allow us to assess the nature of the transition between disease-free and endemic phases in the SIS epidemic spreading model. In a multiplex network, depending on a coupling parameter, $p$, the inverse participation ratio ($IPR$) of the leading eigenvector of the adjacency matrix can be in two different structural regimes: (i) layer-localized and (ii) delocalized. Here we formalize the structural transition point, $p^*$, between these two regimes, showing that there are universal properties regarding both the layer size $n$ and the layer confi…
We examine a model of network formation in single-layer and multiplex networks in which individuals have positive incentives for social ties, closed triangles, and spillover edges. In particular, we investigate the influence of shocks to the network in which the cost of social ties changes after an initial equilibrium. We highlight the emergence of structural entrenchment: the retention of structural features, such as closed triangles and spillover edges, which are formed under historically different conditions from those currently driving network evolution. This work has broad implications fo…
It has recently been suggested \cite{Radicchi2013} that in a two-level multiplex network, a gradual change in the value of the "interlayer" strength $p$ can provoke an abrupt structural transition. The critical point $p^*$ at which this happens is system-dependent. In this article, we show in a similar way as in \cite{Garrahan2014} that this is a consequence of the graph Laplacian formalism used in \cite{Radicchi2013}. We calculate the evolution of $p^{*}$ as a function of system size for ER and RR networks. We investigate the behavior of structural measures and dynamical processes of a two-le…
Many real-world complex systems consist of a set of elementary units connected by relationships of different kinds. All such systems are better described in terms of multiplex networks, where the links at each layer represent a different type of interaction between the same set of nodes, rather than in terms of (single-layer) networks. In this paper we present a general framework to describe and study multiplex networks, whose links are either unweighted or weighted. In particular we propose a series of measures to characterize the multiplexicity of the systems in terms of: i) basic node and l…
A large body of research on link prediction problem is devoted to finding missing links in single-layer (simplex) networks. The proposed link prediction methods compute a similarity measure between unconnected node pairs based on the observed structure of the network. However, extension of notion of similarity to multiplex networks is a two-fold challenge. The layers of real-world multiplex networks do not have the same organization yet are not of totally different organizations. So, it should be determined that how similar are the layers of a multiplex network. On the other hand, it is needed…
Multilayer networks have been the subject of intense research during the last few years, as they represent better the interdependent nature of many real world systems. Here, we address the question of describing the three different structural phases in which a multiplex network might exist. We show that each phase can be characterized by the presence of gaps in the spectrum of the supra-Laplacian of the multiplex network. We therefore unveil the existence of different topological scales in the system, whose relation characterizes each phase. Moreover, by capitalizing on the coarse-grained repr…
Many biological and man-made networked systems are characterized by the simultaneous presence of different sub-networks organized in separate layers, with links and nodes of qualitatively different types. While during the past few years theoretical studies have examined a variety of structural features of complex networks, the outstanding question is whether such features are characterizing all single layers, or rather emerge as a result of coarse-graining, i.e. when going from the multilayered to the aggregate network representation. Here we address this issue with the help of real data. We a…
The way the topological structure goes from a decoupled state into a coupled one in multiplex networks has been widely studied by means of analytical and numerical studies, involving models of artificial networks. In general, these experiments assume uniform interconnections between layers offering, on the one hand, an analytical treatment of the structural properties of multiplex networks but, on the other hand, loosing applicability to real networks where heterogeneity of the links' weights is an intrinsic feature. In this paper, we study 2-layer multiplex networks of musicians whose layers …
Many natural, engineered, and social systems can be represented using the framework of a layered network, where each layer captures a different type of interaction between the same set of nodes. The study of such multiplex networks is a vibrant area of research. Yet, understanding how to quantify the correlations present between pairs of layers, and more so present in their co-evolution, is lacking. Such methods would enable us to address fundamental questions involving issues such as function, redundancy and potential disruptions. Here we show first how the edge-set of a multiplex network can…
We explore the block nature of the matrix representation of multiplex networks, introducing a new formalism to deal with its spectral properties as a function of the inter-layer coupling parameter. This approach allows us to derive interesting results based on an interpretation of the traditional eigenvalue problem. More specifically, we reduce the dimensionality of our matrices but increase the power of the characteristic polynomial, i.e, a polynomial eigenvalue problem. Such an approach may sound counterintuitive at first glance, but it allows us to relate the quadratic problem for a 2-Layer…
Diffusion describes the motion of microscopic entities from regions of high concentration to regions of low concentration. In multiplex networks, flows can occur both within and across layers, and super-diffusion, a regime where the time scale of the multiplex to reach equilibrium is smaller than that of single networks in isolation, can emerge due to the interplay of these two mechanisms. In the limits of strong and weak inter-layer couplings multiplex diffusion has been linked to the spectrum of the supra-Laplacian associated to the system. However, a general theory for the emergence of this…
Until now, no simple symmetries have been detected in complex networks. Here we show that, in growing multiplex networks the symmetries of multilayer structures can be exploited by their dynamical rules, forming supersymmetric multiplex networks described by coupled Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac quantum statistics. The supersymmetric multiplex is formed by layers which are scale-free networks and can display a Bose-Einstein condensation of the links. To characterize the complexity of the supersymmetric multiplex using quantum information tools, we extend the definition of the network entanglem…
This paper focuses on the problem of growing multiplex networks. Currently, the results on the joint degree distribution of growing multiplex networks present in the literature pertain to the case of two layers, and are confined to the special case of homogeneous growth, and are limited to the state state (that is, the limit of infinite size). In the present paper, we obtain closed-form solutions for the joint degree distribution of heterogeneously growing multiplex networks with arbitrary number of layers in the steady state. Heterogeneous growth means that each incoming node establishes diff…
Multiplex networks offer an important tool for the study of complex systems and extending techniques originally designed for single--layer networks is an important area of study. One of the most important methods for analyzing networks is clustering the nodes into communities that represent common connectivity patterns. In this paper we extend spectral clustering to multiplex structures and discuss some of the difficulties that arise in attempting to define a natural generalization. In order to analyze our approach, we describe three simple, synthetic multiplex networks and compare the perform…
Multiplex networks are a type of multilayer network in which entities are connected to each other via multiple types of connections. We propose a method, based on computing pairwise similarities between layers and then doing community detection, for grouping structurally similar layers in multiplex networks. We illustrate our approach using both synthetic and empirical networks, and we are able to find meaningful groups of layers in both cases. For example, we find that airlines that are based in similar geographic locations tend to be grouped together in an airline multiplex network and that …
Identifying the most influential spreaders is important to understand and control the spreading process in a network. As many real-world complex systems can be modeled as multilayer networks, the question of identifying important nodes in multilayer network has attracted much attention. Existing studies focus on the multilayer network structure, while neglecting how the structural and dynamical coupling of multiple layers influence the dynamical importance of nodes in the network. Here we investigate on this question in an information-disease coupled spreading dynamics on multiplex networks. F…
Identifying super-spreaders in epidemics is important to suppress the spreading of disease especially when the medical resource is limited.In the modern society, the information on epidemics transmits swiftly through various communication channels which contributes much to the suppression of epidemics. Here we study on the identification of super-spreaders in the information-disease coupled spreading dynamics. Firstly, we find that the centralities in physical contact layer are no longer effective to identify super-spreaders in epidemics, which is due to the suppression effects from the inform…
We study the robustness properties of multiplex networks consisting of multiple layers of distinct types of links, focusing on the role of correlations between degrees of a node in different layers. We use generating function formalism to address various notions of the network robustness relevant to multiplex networks such as the resilience of ordinary- and mutual connectivity under random or targeted node removals as well as the biconnectivity. We found that correlated coupling can affect the structural robustness of multiplex networks in diverse fashion. For example, for maximally-correlated…
We propose here a multiplex network approach to investigate simultaneously different types of dependency in complex data sets. In particular, we consider multiplex networks made of four layers corresponding respectively to linear, non-linear, tail, and partial correlations among a set of financial time series. We construct the sparse graph on each layer using a standard network filtering procedure, and we then analyse the structural properties of the obtained multiplex networks. The study of the time evolution of the multiplex constructed from financial data uncovers important changes in intri…
Multiplex networks describe a large number of systems ranging from social networks to the brain. These multilayer structure encode information in their structure. This information can be extracted by measuring the correlations present in the multiplex networks structure, such as the overlap of the links in different layers. Many multiplex networks are also weighted, and the weights of the links can be strongly correlated with the structural properties of the multiplex network. For example in multiplex network formed by the citation and collaboration networks between PRE scientists it was found…
Many complex systems can be described as multiplex networks in which the same nodes can interact with one another in different layers, thus forming a set of interacting and co-evolving networks. Examples of such multiplex systems are social networks where people are involved in different types of relationships and interact through various forms of communication media. The ranking of nodes in multiplex networks is one of the most pressing and challenging tasks that research on complex networks is currently facing. When pairs of nodes can be connected through multiple links and in multiple layer…
Many complex systems have natural representations as multi-layer networks. While these formulations retain more information than standard single-layer network models, there is not yet a fully developed theory for computing network metrics and statistics on these objects. We introduce a family of models of multiplex processes motivated by dynamical applications and investigate the properties of their spectra both theoretically and computationally. We study special cases of multiplex diffusion and Markov dynamics, using the spectral results to compute their rates of convergence. We use our frame…
Investigating relation between various structural patterns found in real-world networks and stability of underlying systems is crucial to understand importance and evolutionary origin of such patterns. We evolve multiplex networks, comprising of anti-symmetric couplings in one layer, depicting predator-prey relation, and symmetric couplings in the other, depicting mutualistic (or competitive) relation, based on stability maximization through the largest eigenvalue. We find that the correlated multiplexity emerges as evolution progresses. The evolved values of the correlated multiplexity exhibi…
The coexistence of multiple types of interactions within social, technological and biological networks has moved the focus of the physics of complex systems towards a multiplex description of the interactions between their constituents. This novel approach has unveiled that the multiplex nature of complex systems has strong influence in the emergence of collective states and their critical properties. Here we address an important issue that is intrinsic to the coexistence of multiple means of interactions within a network: their competition. To this aim, we study a two-layer multiplex in which…
In the past decade, cities have experienced rapid growth, expansion, and changes in their community structure. Many aspects of critical urban infrastructure are closely coupled with the human communities that they serve. Urban communities are composed of a multiplex of overlapping factors which can be distinguished into cultural, religious, social-economic, political, and geographical layers. In this paper, we review how increasingly available heterogeneous mobile big data sets can be leveraged to detect the community interaction structure using natural language processing and machine learning…
Social networks exhibit scaling-laws for several structural characteristics, such as the degree distribution, the scaling of the attachment kernel, and the clustering coefficients as a function of node degree. A detailed understanding if and how these scaling laws are inter-related is missing so far, let alone whether they can be understood through a common, dynamical principle. We propose a simple model for stationary network formation and show that the three mentioned scaling relations follow as natural consequences of triadic closure. The validity of the model is tested on multiplex data fr…
It has been recognized that many complex dynamical systems in the real world require a description in terms of multiplex networks, where a set of common, mutually connected nodes belong to distinct network layers and play a different role in each layer. In spite of recent progress towards data based inference of single-layer networks, to reconstruct complex systems with a multiplex structure remains largely open. We articulate a mean-field based maximum likelihood estimation framework to solve this outstanding and challenging problem. We demonstrate the power of the reconstruction framework an…
Higher order interactions are increasingly recognised as a fundamental aspect of complex systems ranging from the brain to social contact networks. Hypergraph as well as simplicial complexes capture the higher-order interactions of complex systems and allow to investigate the relation between their higher-order structure and their function. Here we establish a general framework for assessing hypergraph robustness and we characterize the critical properties of simple and higher-order percolation processes. This general framework builds on the formulation of the random multiplex hypergraph ensem…
What do societies, the Internet, and the human brain have in common? They are all examples of complex relational systems, whose emerging behaviours are largely determined by the non-trivial networks of interactions among their constituents, namely individuals, computers, or neurons, rather than the properties of the units themselves. In the last two decades, network scientists have proposed models of increasing complexity to better understand real-world systems. Only recently we have realised that multiplexity, i.e. the coexistence of several types of interactions among the constituents of a c…
Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology（斯科尔科沃科技学院）
Complex network theory has shown success in understanding the emergent and collective behavior of complex systems [1]. Many real-world complex systems were recently discovered to be more accurately modeled as multiplex networks [2-6]---in which each interaction type is mapped to its own network layer; e.g.~multi-layer transportation networks, coupled social networks, metabolic and regulatory networks, etc. A salient physical phenomena emerging from multiplexity is super-diffusion: exhibited by an accelerated diffusion admitted by the multi-layer structure as compared to any single layer. Theor…
Real networks often form interacting parts of larger and more complex systems. Examples can be found in different domains, ranging from the Internet to structural and functional brain networks. Here, we show that these multiplex systems are not random combinations of single network layers. Instead, they are organized in specific ways dictated by hidden geometric correlations between the individual layers. We find that these correlations are strong in different real multiplexes, and form a key framework for answering many important questions. Specifically, we show that these geometric correlati…
Online social systems are multiplex in nature as multiple links may exist between the same two users across different social networks. In this work, we introduce a framework for studying links and interactions between users beyond the individual social network. Exploring the cross-section of two popular online platforms - Twitter and location-based social network Foursquare - we represent the two together as a composite multilayer online social network. Through this paradigm we study the interactions of pairs of users differentiating between those with links on one or both networks. We find th…
Jilin University（吉林大学）；Hong Kong Baptist University（香港浸会大学）
Complex network theory aims to model and analyze complex systems that consist of multiple and interdependent components. Among all studies on complex networks, topological structure analysis is of the most fundamental importance, as it represents a natural route to understand the dynamics, as well as to synthesize or optimize the functions, of networks. A broad spectrum of network structural patterns have been respectively reported in the past decade, such as communities, multipartites, hubs, authorities, outliers, bow ties, and others. Here, we show that most individual real-world networks de…
Networks are often made up of several layers that exhibit diverse degrees of interdependencies. A multilayer interdependent network consists of a set of graphs $G$ that are interconnected through a weighted interconnection matrix $ B $, where the weight of each inter-graph link is a non-negative real number $ p $. Various dynamical processes, such as synchronization, cascading failures in power grids, and diffusion processes, are described by the Laplacian matrix $ Q $ characterizing the whole system. For the case in which the multilayer graph is a multiplex, where the number of nodes in each …
The numerous expanding online social networks offer fast channels for misinformation spreading, which could have a serious impact on socioeconomic systems. Researchers across multiple areas have paid attention to this issue with a view of addressing it. However, no systematical theoretical study has been performed to date on observing misinformation spreading on correlated multiplex networks. In this study, we propose a multiplex network-based misinformation spreading model, considering the fact that each individual can obtain misinformation from multiple platforms. Subsequently, we develop a …
Interlayer link prediction aims at matching the same entities across different layers of the multiplex network. Existing studies attempt to predict more accurately, efficiently, or generically from the aspects of network structure, attribute characteristics, and their combination. Few of them analyze the effects of intralayer links. Namely, few works study the backbone structures which can effectively preserve the predictive accuracy while dealing with a smaller number of intralayer links. It can be used to investigate what types of intralayer links are most important for correct prediction. A…
The multilayer network framework has served to describe and uncover a number of novel and unforeseen physical behaviors and regimes in interacting complex systems. However, the majority of existing studies are built on undirected multilayer networks while most complex systems in nature exhibit directed interactions. Here, we propose a framework to analyze diffusive dynamics on multilayer networks consisting of at least one directed layer. We rigorously demonstrate that directionality in multilayer networks can fundamentally change the behavior of diffusive dynamics: from monotonic (in undirect…
Complex contagion models have been developed to understand a wide range of social phenomena such as adoption of cultural fads, the diffusion of belief, norms, and innovations in social networks, and the rise of collective action to join a riot. Most existing works focus on contagions where individuals' states are represented by {\em binary} variables, and propagation takes place over a single isolated network. However, characterization of an individual's standing on a given matter as a binary state might be overly simplistic as most of our opinions, feelings, and perceptions vary over more tha…
The behavior of many complex systems is determined by a core of densely interconnected units. While many methods are available to identify the core of a network when connections between nodes are all of the same type, a principled approach to define the core when multiple types of connectivity are allowed is still lacking. Here we introduce a general framework to define and extract the core-periphery structure of multi-layer networks by explicitly taking into account the connectivity of the nodes at each layer. We show how our method works on synthetic networks with different size, density, an…
Several real-world systems can be represented as multi-layer complex networks, i.e. in terms of a superposition of various graphs, each related to a different mode of connection between nodes. Hence, the definition of proper mathematical quantities aiming at capturing the level of complexity of those systems is required. Various attempts have been made to measure the empirical dependencies between the layers of a multiplex, for both binary and weighted networks. In the simplest case, such dependencies are measured via correlation-based metrics: we show that this is equivalent to the use of com…
Superpositions of social networks, such as communication, friendship, or trade networks, are called multiplex networks, forming the structural backbone of human societies. Novel datasets now allow quantification and exploration of multiplex networks. Here we study gender-specific differences of a multiplex network from a complete behavioral dataset of an online-game society of about 300,000 players. On the individual level females perform better economically and are less risk-taking than males. Males reciprocate friendship requests from females faster than vice versa and hesitate to reciprocat…
The entities of real-world networks are connected via different types of connections (i.e. layers). The task of link prediction in multiplex networks is about finding missing connections based on both intra-layer and inter-layer correlations. Our observations confirm that that in a wide range of real-world multiplex networks, from social to biological and technological, a positive correlation exists between connection probability in one layer and similarity in other layers. Accordingly, a similarity-based automatic general-purpose multiplex link prediction method -- SimBins -- is devised that …
Concepts and their mental associations influence how language is processed and used. Networks represent powerful models for exploring such cognitive system, known as mental lexicon. This study investigates lexicon robustness to progressive word failure with multiplex network attacks. The average lexicon of an adult English speaker is built by considering 16000 words connected through semantic free associations and phonological sound similarities. Progressive structural degradation is modelled as random and targeted attacks. Words with higher psycholinguistic features (e.g. frequency, length, a…
Finding group elements from noisy measurements of their pairwise ratios is also known as the group synchronization problem, first introduced in the context of the group SO(2) of planar rotations, whose usefulness has been demonstrated recently in engineering and structural biology. Here, we focus on synchronization over $\mathbb{Z}_2$, and consider the problem of identifying communities in a multiplex network when the interaction between the nodes is described by a signed (possibly weighted) measure of similarity, and when the multiplex network has a natural partition into two communities. Whe…
