arXiv subjects

Tianrui Mao

Publications and source records attributed to Tianrui Mao.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

A Network Science Perspective on Evaluating Deep Graph Generative Models

Traditional network models from network science, such as the Erdos-Renyi and configuration models, generate random networks that reproduce few selected topological properties observed in real-world networks. Deep graph generative models emerge as a data-driven approach, leveraging deep neural network architectures to learn complex structural distributions directly from real-world networks to generate more realistic synthetic networks. Because real social contact networks cannot be shared due to privacy risks, synthetic networks serve as an alternative for developing and evaluating epidemic mitigation strategies. In this work, we evaluate deep graph generative models as well as the configuration from a network science perspective by assessing both the topological similarity between generated and real-world networks and their utility in identifying effective node immunization strategies to sup- press epidemic/misinformation spreading. It is found that two deep graph generative models produce synthetic networks that closely resemble the structural properties of real-world networks, enabling them to identify effective immunization strategies.

cs.SI↗

arXiv2026

Fair Influence Maximization in Hypergraphs

The influence maximization problem aims to select a set of seed nodes that maximize the influence, i.e., the average number of influenced nodes, at the end of a spreading process. It has been widely studied with applications in viral marketing, public health campaigns, and social influence. In networks with pronounced community structure, existing approaches often yield an uneven distribution of influenced nodes across communities, which is unfair. Although the fair influence maximization (FIM) problem has been studied for pairwise networks, it remains largely unexplored for hyper graphs, which more accurately represent real-world systems involving group interactions. We introduce FIMH, a heuristic seed-selection algorithm for FIM on hyper graphs, under the Susceptible-Infected Contact Process (SICP) spreading model. FIMH iteratively estimates the contribution of each candidate node to influence and fairness and selects the node that best trades off these two objectives as an additional seed using a parameter-free utopia-distance criterion. Experiments on seven real-world hypergraphs demonstrate that FIMH achieves an influence comparable to that of state-of-the-art IM methods while significantly reducing influence disparity. Analysis of the topological properties of the selected seed nodes and their contributions to influence and fairness further supports the effectiveness of FIMH.

cs.SI↗

arXiv2025

Estimating Nodal Spreading Influence Using Partial Temporal Network

Temporal networks, whose links are activated or deactivated over time, are used to represent complex systems such as social interactions or collaborations occurring at specific times. Such networks facilitate the spread of information and epidemics. The average number of nodes infected via a spreading process on a network starting from a single seed node over a given period is called the influence of that node. In this paper, we address the question of how to utilize the partially observed temporal network (local and of short duration) around each node, to estimate the ranking of nodes in spreading influence on the full network over a long period. This is essential for target marketing and epidemic/misinformation mitigation where only partial network information is possibly accessible. This would also enable us to understand which network properties of a node, observed locally and shortly after the start of the spreading process, determine its influence. We systematically propose a set of nodal centrality metrics based on partial temporal network information, encoding diverse properties of (time-respecting) walks. It is found that distinct centrality metrics perform the best in estimating nodal influence depending on the infection probability of the spreading process. For a broad range of the infection probability, a node tends to be influential if it can reach many distinct nodes via time-respecting walks and if these nodes can be reached early in time. We find and explain why the proposed metrics generally outperform classic centrality metrics derived from both full and partial temporal networks.

cs.SI↗