Title
Generalized Markov stability of network communities.
Abstract
We address the problem of community detection in networks by introducing a general definition of Markov stability, based on the difference between the probability fluxes of a Markov chain on the network at different timescales. The specific implementation of the quality function and the resulting optimal community structure thus become dependent both on the type of Markov process and on the specific Markov times considered. For instance, if we use a natural Markov chain dynamics and discount its stationary distribution (that is, we take as reference process the dynamics at infinite time) we obtain the standard formulation of the Markov stability. Notably, the possibility to use finite-time transition probabilities to define the reference process naturally allows detecting communities at different resolutions, without the need to consider a continuous-time Markov chain in the small time limit. The main advantage of our general formulation of Markov stability based on dynamical flows is that we work with lumped Markov chains on network partitions, having the same stationary distribution of the original process. In this way the form of the quality function becomes invariant under partitioning, leading to a self-consistent definition of community structures at different aggregation scales.
Year
DOI
Venue
2019
10.1103/PhysRevE.101.052301
PHYSICAL REVIEW E
DocType
Volume
Issue
Journal
101
5
ISSN
Citations 
PageRank 
1539-3755
0
0.34
References 
Authors
0
3
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Aurelio Patelli131.28
Andrea Gabrielli2143.81
Giulio Cimini312613.77