Paper Info
Title
Diffusion geometry unravels the emergence of functional clusters in collective phenomena.
Abstract
Collective phenomena emerge from the interaction of natural or artificial units with a complex organization. The interplay between structural patterns and dynamics might induce functional clusters that, in general, are different from topological ones. In biological systems, like the human brain, the overall functionality is often favored by the interplay between connectivity and synchronization dynamics, with functional clusters that do not coincide with anatomical modules in most cases. In social, sociotechnical, and engineering systems, the quest for consensus favors the emergence of clusters. Despite the unquestionable evidence for mesoscale organization of many complex systems and the heterogeneity of their interconnectivity, a way to predict and identify the emergence of functional modules in collective phenomena continues to elude us. Here, we propose an approach based on random walk dynamics to define the diffusion distance between any pair of units in a networked system. Such a metric allows us to exploit the underlying diffusion geometry to provide a unifying framework for the intimate relationship between metastable synchronization, consensus, and random search dynamics in complex networks, pinpointing the functional mesoscale organization of synthetic and biological systems.
Year
DOI
Venue
2017
10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.168301
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS
Field
DocType
Volume
Complex system,Cluster (physics),Nanotechnology,Random search,Synchronization,Random walk,Diffusion geometry,Theoretical computer science,Exploit,Complex network,Condensed matter physics,Physics
Journal
118
Issue
ISSN
Citations 
16
0031-9007
2
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.39
0
1
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Manlio De Domenico126718.27