arXiv subjects

Michele Starnini

Publications and source records attributed to Michele Starnini.

54 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Geometric randomization of real networks with prescribed degree sequence

We introduce a model for the randomization of complex networks with geometric structure. The geometric randomization (GR) model assumes a homogeneous distribution of the nodes in an underlying similarity space and uses rewirings of the links to find configurations that maximize a connection probability akin to that of the $\mathbb{S}^1$ or $\mathbb{H}^2$ geometric network models. However, GR preserves the original degree sequence, as in the configuration model, thus eliminating the fluctuations of the degree cutoff. Moreover, the model does not require the explicit estimation of hidden degree variables, which restricts the number of free parameters to one, controlling the level of clustering in the rewired network. We illustrate the potential of GR as a null model by investigating the effects on modularity that derive from the flattening of geometric communities in both real and synthetic networks. As a result, we find that for real networks the geometric and topological communities are consistent, while for the randomized counterparts, the topological communities detected are attributable to structural constraints induced by the underlying geometric architecture.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2017

Epidemic spreading in modular time-varying networks

We investigate the effects of modular and temporal connectivity patterns on epidemic spreading. To this end, we introduce and analytically characterise a model of time-varying networks with tunable modularity. Within this framework, we study the epidemic size of Susceptible-Infected-Recovered, SIR, models and the epidemic threshold of Susceptible-Infected-Susceptible, SIS, models. Interestingly, we find that while the presence of tightly connected clusters inhibit SIR processes, it speeds up SIS diseases. In this case, we observe that heterogeneous temporal connectivity patterns and modular structures induce a reduction of the threshold with respect to time-varying networks without communities. We confirm the theoretical results by means of extensive numerical simulations both on synthetic graphs as well as on a real modular and temporal network.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2017

Navigability of temporal networks in hyperbolic space

Information routing is one of the main tasks in many complex networks with a communication function. Maps produced by embedding the networks in hyperbolic space can assist this task enabling the implementation of efficient navigation strategies. However, only static maps have been considered so far, while navigation in more realistic situations, where the network structure may vary in time, remain largely unexplored. Here, we analyze the navigability of real networks by using greedy routing in hyperbolic space, where the nodes are subject to a stochastic activation-inactivation dynamics. We find that such dynamics enhances navigability with respect to the static case. Interestingly, there exists an optimal intermediate activation value, which ensures the best trade-off between the increase in the number of successful paths and a limited growth of their length. Contrary to expectations, the enhanced navigability is robust even when the most connected nodes inactivate with very high probability. Finally, our results indicate that some real networks are ultranavigable and remain highly navigable even if the network structure is extremely unsteady. These findings have important implications for the design and evaluation of efficient routing protocols that account for the temporal nature of real complex networks.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2017

Effects of temporal correlations in social multiplex networks

Multi-layered networks represent a major advance in the description of natural complex systems, and their study has shed light on new physical phenomena. Despite its importance, however, the role of the temporal dimension in their structure and function has not been investigated in much detail so far. Here we study the temporal correlations between layers exhibited by real social multiplex networks. At a basic level, the presence of such correlations implies a certain degree of predictability in the contact pattern, as we quantify by an extension of the entropy and mutual information analyses proposed for the single-layer case. At a different level, we demonstrate that temporal correlations are a signature of a 'multitasking' behavior of network agents, characterized by a higher level of switching between different social activities than expected in a uncorrelated pattern. Moreover, temporal correlations significantly affect the dynamics of coupled epidemic processes unfolding on the network. Our work opens the way for the systematic study of temporal multiplex networks and we anticipate it will be of interest to researchers in a broad array of fields.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2017

Robust modeling of human contact networks across different scales and proximity-sensing techniques

The problem of mapping human close-range proximity networks has been tackled using a variety of technical approaches. Wearable electronic devices, in particular, have proven to be particularly successful in a variety of settings relevant for research in social science, complex networks and infectious diseases dynamics. Each device and technology used for proximity sensing (e.g., RFIDs, Bluetooth, low-power radio or infrared communication, etc.) comes with specific biases on the close-range relations it records. Hence it is important to assess which statistical features of the empirical proximity networks are robust across different measurement techniques, and which modeling frameworks generalize well across empirical data. Here we compare time-resolved proximity networks recorded in different experimental settings and show that some important statistical features are robust across all settings considered. The observed universality calls for a simplified modeling approach. We show that one such simple model is indeed able to reproduce the main statistical distributions characterizing the empirical temporal networks.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2017

Equivalence between non-Markovian and Markovian dynamics in epidemic spreading processes

A general formalism is introduced to allow the steady state of non-Markovian processes on networks to be reduced to equivalent Markovian processes on the same substrates. The example of an epidemic spreading process is considered in detail, where all the non-Markovian aspects are shown to be captured within a single parameter, the effective infection rate. Remarkably, this result is independent of the topology of the underlying network, as demonstrated by numerical simulations on two-dimensional lattices and various types of random networks. Furthermore, an analytic approximation for the effective infection rate is introduced, which enables the calculation of the critical point and of the critical exponents for the non-Markovian dynamics.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2016

Time-varying networks approach to social dynamics: From individual to collective behavior

In this thesis we contribute to the understanding of the pivotal role of the temporal dimension in networked social systems, previously neglected and now uncovered by the data revolution recently blossomed in this field. To this aim, we first introduce the time-varying networks formalism and analyze some empirical data of social dynamics, extensively used in the rest of the thesis. We discuss the structural and temporal properties of human contact networks, such as heterogeneity and burstiness of social interactions, and we present a simple model, rooted on social attractiveness, able to reproduce them. We then explore the behavior of dynamical processes running on top of temporal networks, constituted by empirical face-to-face interactions, addressing in detail the fundamental cases of random walks and epidemic spreading. We also develop an analytic approach able to compute the structural and percolation properties of the activity driven model, aimed to describe a wide class of social interactions, driven by the activity of the individuals involved. Our contribution in the rapidly evolving framework of social time-varying networks opens interesting perspectives for future work, such as the study of the impact of the temporal dimension on multi-layered systems.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2016

Model reproduces individual, group and collective dynamics of human contact networks

Empirical data on the dynamics of human face-to-face interactions across a variety of social venues have recently revealed a number of context-independent structural and temporal properties of human contact networks. This universality suggests that some basic mechanisms may be responsible for the unfolding of human interactions in the physical space. Here we discuss a simple model that reproduces the empirical distributions for the individual, group and collective dynamics of face-to-face contact networks. The model describes agents that move randomly in a two-dimensional space and tend to stop when meeting "attractive" peers, and reproduces accurately the empirical distributions.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2016

Aging and percolation dynamics in a Non-Poissonian temporal network model

We present an exhaustive mathematical analysis of the recently proposed Non-Poissonian Ac- tivity Driven (NoPAD) model [Moinet et al. Phys. Rev. Lett., 114 (2015)], a temporal network model incorporating the empirically observed bursty nature of social interactions. We focus on the aging effects emerging from the Non-Poissonian dynamics of link activation, and on their effects on the topological properties of time-integrated networks, such as the degree distribution. Analytic expressions for the degree distribution of integrated networks as a function of time are derived, ex- ploring both limits of vanishing and strong aging. We also address the percolation process occurring on these temporal networks, by computing the threshold for the emergence of a giant connected component, highlighting the aging dependence. Our analytic predictions are checked by means of extensive numerical simulations of the NoPAD model.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2016

Emergence of metapopulations and echo chambers in mobile agents

Multi-agent models often describe populations segregated either in the physical space, i.e. subdivided in metapopulations, or in the ecology of opinions, i.e. partitioned in echo chambers. Here we show how the interplay between homophily and social influence controls the emergence of both kinds of segregation in a simple model of mobile agents, endowed with a continuous opinion variable. In the model, physical proximity determines a progressive convergence of opinions but differing opinions result in agents moving away from each others. This feedback between mobility and social dynamics determines to the onset of a stable dynamical metapopulation scenario where physically separated groups of like-minded individuals interact with each other through the exchange of agents. The further introduction of confirmation bias in social interactions, defined as the tendency of an individual to favor opinions that match his own, leads to the emergence of echo chambers where different opinions can coexist also within the same group. We believe that the model may be of interest to researchers investigating the origin of segregation in the offline and online world.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2014

Burstiness and aging in social temporal networks

The presence of burstiness in temporal social networks, revealed by a power law form of the waiting time distribution of consecutive interactions, is expected to produce aging effects in the corresponding time-integrated network. Here we propose an analytically tractable model, in which interactions among the agents are ruled by a renewal process, and that is able to reproduce this aging behavior. We develop an analytic solution for the topological properties of the integrated network produced by the model, finding that the time translation invariance of the degree distribution is broken. We validate our predictions against numerical simulations, and we check for the presence of aging effects in a empirical temporal network, ruled by bursty social interactions.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2013

Temporal percolation in activity driven networks

We study the temporal percolation properties of temporal networks by taking as a representative example the recently proposed activity driven network model [N. Perra et al., Sci. Rep. 2, 469 (2012)]. Building upon an analytical framework based on a mapping to hidden variables networks, we provide expressions for the percolation time marking the onset of a giant connected component in the integrated network. In particular, we consider both the generating function formalism, valid for degree uncorrelated networks, and the general case of networks with degree correlations. We discuss the different limits of the two approach, indicating the parameter regions where the correlated threshold collapses onto the uncorrelated case. Our analytical prediction are confirmed by numerical simulations of the model. The temporal percolation concept can be fruitfully applied to study epidemic spreading on temporal networks. We show in particular how the susceptible-infected- removed model on an activity driven network can be mapped to the percolation problem up to a time given by the spreading rate of the epidemic process. This mapping allows to obtain addition information on this process, not available for previous approaches.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2013

Immunization strategies for epidemic processes in time-varying contact networks

Spreading processes represent a very efficient tool to investigate the structural properties of networks and the relative importance of their constituents, and have been widely used to this aim in static networks. Here we consider simple disease spreading processes on empirical time-varying networks of contacts between individuals, and compare the effect of several immunization strategies on these processes. An immunization strategy is defined as the choice of a set of nodes (individuals) who cannot catch nor transmit the disease. This choice is performed according to a certain ranking of the nodes of the contact network. We consider various ranking strategies, focusing in particular on the role of the training window during which the nodes' properties are measured in the time-varying network: longer training windows correspond to a larger amount of information collected and could be expected to result in better performances of the immunization strategies. We find instead an unexpected saturation in the efficiency of strategies based on nodes' characteristics when the length of the training window is increased, showing that a limited amount of information on the contact patterns is sufficient to design efficient immunization strategies. This finding is balanced by the large variations of the contact patterns, which strongly alter the importance of nodes from one period to the next and therefore significantly limit the efficiency of any strategy based on an importance ranking of nodes. We also observe that the efficiency of strategies that include an element of randomness and are based on temporally local information do not perform as well but are largely independent on the amount of information available.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2013

Modeling human dynamics of face-to-face interaction networks

Face-to-face interaction networks describe social interactions in human gatherings, and are the substrate for processes such as epidemic spreading and gossip propagation. The bursty nature of human behavior characterizes many aspects of empirical data, such as the distribution of conversation lengths, of conversations per person, or of inter-conversation times. Despite several recent attempts, a general theoretical understanding of the global picture emerging from data is still lacking. Here we present a simple model that reproduces quantitatively most of the relevant features of empirical face-to-face interaction networks. The model describes agents which perform a random walk in a two dimensional space and are characterized by an attractiveness whose effect is to slow down the motion of people around them. The proposed framework sheds light on the dynamics of human interactions and can improve the modeling of dynamical processes taking place on the ensuing dynamical social networks.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2013

Topological properties of a time-integrated activity driven network

Here we consider the topological properties of the integrated networks emerging from the activity driven model [Perra at al. Sci. Rep. 2, 469 (2012)], a temporal network model recently proposed to explain the power-law degree distribution empirically observed in many real social networks. By means of a mapping to a hidden variables network model, we provide analytical expressions for the main topological properties of the integrated network, depending on the integration time and the distribution of activity potential characterizing the model. The expressions obtained, exacts in some cases, the results of controlled asymptotic expansions in others, are confirmed by means of extensive numerical simulations. Our analytical approach, which highlights the differences of the model with respect to the empirical observations made in real social networks, can be easily extended to deal with improved, more realistic modifications of the activity driven network paradigm.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2012

Ordering dynamics of the multi-state voter model

The voter model is a paradigm of ordering dynamics. At each time step, a random node is selected and copies the state of one of its neighbors. Traditionally, this state has been considered as a binary variable. Here, we relax this assumption and address the case in which the number of states is a parameter that can assume any value, from 2 to \infty, in the thermodynamic limit. We derive mean-field analytical expressions for the exit probability and the consensus time for the case of an arbitrary number of states. We then perform a numerical study of the model in low dimensional lattices, comparing the case of multiple states with the usual binary voter model. Our work generalizes the well-known results for the voter model, and sheds light on the role of the so far almost neglected parameter accounting for the number of states.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2012

Generalized voter-like models on heterogeneous networks

We describe a generalization of the voter model on complex networks that encompasses different sources of degree-related heterogeneity and that is amenable to direct analytical solution by applying the standard methods of heterogeneous mean-field theory. Our formalism allows for a compact description of previously proposed heterogeneous voter-like models, and represents a basic framework within which we can rationalize the effects of heterogeneity in voter-like models, as well as implement novel sources of heterogeneity, not previously considered in the literature.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2012

Random walks on temporal networks

Many natural and artificial networks evolve in time. Nodes and connections appear and disappear at various timescales, and their dynamics has profound consequences for any processes in which they are involved. The first empirical analysis of the temporal patterns characterizing dynamic networks are still recent, so that many questions remain open. Here, we study how random walks, as paradigm of dynamical processes, unfold on temporally evolving networks. To this aim, we use empirical dynamical networks of contacts between individuals, and characterize the fundamental quantities that impact any general process taking place upon them. Furthermore, we introduce different randomizing strategies that allow us to single out the role of the different properties of the empirical networks. We show that the random walk exploration is slower on temporal networks than it is on the aggregate projected network, even when the time is properly rescaled. In particular, we point out that a fundamental role is played by the temporal correlations between consecutive contacts present in the data. Finally, we address the consequences of the intrinsically limited duration of many real world dynamical networks. Considering the fundamental prototypical role of the random walk process, we believe that these results could help to shed light on the behavior of more complex dynamics on temporally evolving networks.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗