Complex networks:

an introduction
Alain Barrat
CPT, Marseille, France
ISI, Turin, Italy
http://www.cpt.univ-mrs.fr/~barrat
http://cxnets.googlepages.com
 Plan of the lecture

I. INTRODUCTION
I. Networks: definitions, statistical characterization
II. Real world networks
II. DYNAMICAL PROCESSES
I. Resilience, vulnerability
II. Random walks
III. Epidemic processes
IV. (Social phenomena)
V. Some perspectives
 What is a network
Network=set of nodes joined by links

very abstract representation

very general
convenient to describe
many different systems
 Some examples
Nodes Links
Social networks Individuals Social relations

Internet Routers Cables

AS Commercial agreements
WWW Webpages Hyperlinks

Protein interaction Proteins Chemical reactions

networks

and many more (email, P2P, foodwebs, transport….)

 Interdisciplinary science
Science of complex networks:
-graph theory
-sociology
-communication science
-biology
-physics
-computer science
 Interdisciplinary science
Science of complex networks:
• Empirics
• Characterization
• Modeling
• Dynamical processes
 Paths
G=(V,E)
Path of length n = ordered collection of
• n+1 vertices i0,i1,…,in ∈ V
• n edges (i0,i1), (i1,i2)…,(in-1,in) ∈ E
i3
i4
i5
i0 i1 i2

Cycle/loop = closed path (i0=in)

 Paths and connectedness
G=(V,E) is connected if and only if there exists
a path connecting any two nodes in G

is connected

•is not connected

•is formed by two components
 Paths and connectedness

G=(V,E)=> distribution of components’ sizes

Giant component= component whose

size scales with the number of vertices N

Existence of a Macroscopic fraction of

giant component the graph is connected
 Paths and connectedness:
directed graphs
Paths are directed
Giant SCC: Strongly
Giant IN Connected Component Giant OUT
Component Component
Disconnected
components

Tendrils
Tube Tendril
 Shortest paths
Shortest path between i and j: minimum number
of traversed edges
distance l(i,j)=minimum
j
number of edges traversed
on a path between i and j
i

Diameter of the graph= max(l(i,j))

Average shortest path= ∑ij l(i,j)/(N(N-1)/2)
Complete graph: l(i,j)=1 for all i,j
“Small-world”: “small” diameter
 Centrality measures
How to quantify the importance of a node?
• Degree=number of neighbours=∑j aij

ki=5
i
(directed graphs: kin, kout)
• Closeness centrality
gi= 1 / ∑j l(i,j)
 Betweenness centrality
for each pair of nodes (l,m) in the graph, there are
σlm shortest paths between l and m
σilm shortest paths going through i
bi is the sum of σilm / σlm over all pairs (l,m)

path-based quantity

i bi is large
j bj is small

∑ σilm
NB: similar quantity= load li=∑
NB: generalization to edge betweenness centrality
 Structure of neighborhoods
k
Clustering coefficient of a node
3
# of links between 1,2,…n neighbors
C(i) =
i 2
k(k-1)/2

Clustering: My friends will know each other with high probability!

(typical example: social networks)
 Structure of neighborhoods

Average clustering coefficient of a graph

C=∑i C(i)/N

NB: slightly different definition from the

fraction of transitive triples:
3 x number of fully connected triples
C’ =
number of triples
 Statistical characterization
Degree distribution

•List of degrees k1,k2,…,kN Not very useful!

•Histogram:
Nk= number of nodes with degree k
•Distribution:
P(k)=Nk/N=probability that a randomly chosen
node has degree k
•Cumulative distribution:
P>(k)=probability that a randomly chosen
node has degree at least k
 Statistical characterization
Degree distribution

P(k)=Nk/N=probability that a randomly chosen

node has degree k

Average= k  = ∑i ki/N = ∑k k P(k)=2|E|/N

Sparse graphs:  k  ≪ N

Fluctuations:  k2 -  k  2
 k2  = ∑i k2i/N = ∑k k2 P(k)
 kn  = ∑k kn P(k)
 Statistical characterization
Multipoint degree correlations

P(k): not enough to characterize a network

Large degree nodes tend to

connect to large degree nodes
Ex: social networks

Large degree nodes tend to

connect to small degree nodes
Ex: technological networks
 Statistical characterization
Multipoint degree correlations
Measure of correlations:
P(k’,k’’,…k(n)|k): conditional probability that a node of
degree k is connected to nodes of degree k’, k’’,…
Simplest case:
P(k’|k): conditional probability that a node of degree k is
connected to a node of degree k’

often inconvenient (statistical fluctuations)

 Statistical characterization
Multipoint degree correlations
Practical measure of correlations:
average degree of nearest neighbors

k=4
k=4
i

k=7 k=3 ki=4

knn,i=(3+4+4+7)/4=4.5
 Statistical characterization
average degree of nearest neighbors

Correlation spectrum:
putting together nodes which
have the same degree

class of degree k
 Statistical characterization
case of random uncorrelated networks

P(k’|k)
•independent of k
•proba that an edge points to a node of degree k’
number of edges from nodes of degree k’
number of edges from nodes of any degree

Punc(k’|k)=k’P(k’)/ k  proportional
to k’ itself
 Typical correlations

• Assortative behaviour: growing knn(k)

Example: social networks
Large sites are connected with large sites

• Disassortative behaviour: decreasing knn(k)

Example: internet
Large sites connected with small sites, hierarchical
structure
 Correlations:
Clustering spectrum
•P(k’,k’’|k): cumbersome, difficult to estimate from data
•Average clustering coefficient C=average over nodes with
very different characteristics

Clustering spectrum:
putting together nodes which
have the same degree

class of degree k
(link with hierarchical structures)
 Weighted networks
Real world networks: links
• carry trafic (transport networks, Internet…)
• have different intensities (social networks…)

General description: weights

i wij j

aij: 0 or 1
wij: continuous variable
 Weights: examples
Scientific collaborations: number of common papaers
Internet, emails: traffic, number of exchanged emails
Airports: number of passengers
Metabolic networks: fluxes
Financial networks: shares
…

usually wii=0
symetric: wij=wji
 Weighted networks
Weights: on the links

Strength of a node:
si = ∑j ∈ V(i) wij

=>Naturally generalizes the degree to weighted networks

=>Quantifies for example the total trafic at a node

 Weighted clustering
coefficient

i i
wij=1
wij=5

si=16 si=8
ki=4
ciw=0.625 > ci ciw=0.25 < ci
ci=0.5
 Weighted clustering
coefficient
k Average clustering coefficient
(wjk) C=∑i C(i)/N
wik
j Cw=∑i Cw(i)/N
i wij

Random(ized) weights: C = Cw
C < Cw : more weights on cliques
C > Cw : less weights on cliques

Clustering spectra
Weighted assortativity

5 5
1

5
i
5

ki=5; knn,i=1.8
Weighted assortativity

1 1
5

1
i
1

ki=5; knn,i=1.8
 Weighted assortativity

5 5
1

5
i
5

ki=5; si=21; knn,i=1.8 ; knn,iw=1.2: knn,i > knn,iw

 Weighted assortativity

1 1
5

1
i
1

ki=5; si=9; knn,i=1.8 ; knn,iw=3.2: knn,i < knn,iw

Participation ratio

1/ki if all weights equal

close to 1 if few weights dominate
 Plan of the lecture

I. INTRODUCTION
I. Networks: definitions, statistical characterization
II. Real world networks
II. DYNAMICAL PROCESSES
I. Resilience, vulnerability
II. Random walks
III. Epidemic processes
IV. (Social phenomena)
V. Some perspectives
 Two main classes

Natural systems:
Biological networks: genes, proteins…
Foodwebs
Social networks

Infrastructure networks:
Virtual: web, email, P2P
Physical: Internet, power grids, transport…
Metabolic Network Protein Interactions

Nodes: metabolites Nodes: proteins

Links:chemical reactions Links: interactions
Scientific collaboration network
Nodes: scientists
Links: co-authored papers

Weights: depending on
•number of co-authored papers
•number of authors of each paper
•number of citations…
 Transportation network:
Urban level
TRANSIMS project

Nodes=locations (homes, shops, offices…)

Weighted links=flow of individuals
 World airport network

complete IATA database

l V = 3100 airports
l E = 17182 weighted edges
l wij #seats / (time scale) > 99% of total traffic
 Meta-population networks

Each node: internal structure

Links: transport/traffic

City i

City a

City j
 Internet

•Computers (routers)
•Satellites
•Modems
•Phone cables
•Optic fibers
•EM waves

different
granularities
 Internet mapping
•continuously evolving and growing
•intrinsic heterogeneity
•self-organizing
Largely unknown topology/properties

Mapping projects:
•Multi-probe reconstruction (router-level): traceroute
•Use of BGP tables for the Autonomous System level (domains)

•CAIDA, NLANR, RIPE, Topology and performance

IPM, PingER, DIMES measurements
The World-Wide-Web
Virtual network to find and share informations
•web pages
•hyperlinks

CRAWLS
 Sampling issues
• social networks: various samplings/networks
• transportation network: reliable data
• biological networks: incomplete samplings
• Internet: various (incomplete) mapping processes
• WWW: regular crawls
• …

possibility of introducing biases in the

measured network characteristics
 Networks characteristics
Networks: of very different origins

Do they have anything in common?

Possibility to find common properties?

the abstract character of the graph representation

and graph theory allow to answer….
 Social networks:
Milgram’s experiment
Milgram, Psych Today 2, 60 (1967)
Dodds et al., Science 301,
301 827 (2003)

“Six degrees of separation”

SMALL-WORLD CHARACTER
Small-world properties
Average number of nodes
within a chemical distance l

Scientific collaborations

Internet
 Small-world properties

N points, links with proba p:

static random graphs

short distances
(log N)
 Clustering coefficient
n
Empirically: large clustering coefficients
3

Higher probability to be connected

2
1

Clustering: My friends will know each other with high probability

(typical example: social networks)
 Small-world networks

N nodes forms a regular lattice.

With probability p,
each edge is rewired randomly
=>Shortcuts

N = 1000

•Large clustering coeff.

•Short typical path
Watts & Strogatz,
Nature 393,
393 440 (1998)
 Topological heterogeneity
Statistical analysis of centrality measures:

P(k)=Nk/N=probability that a randomly chosen

node has degree k
also: P(b), P(w)….

Two broad classes

•homogeneous networks: light tails
•heterogeneous networks: skewed, heavy tails
 Topological heterogeneity
Statistical analysis of centrality measures

Broad degree
distributions
(often: power-law tails
P(k) ∼ k-γ ,
typically 2< γ <3)

No particular
Internet
characteristic scale
 Topological heterogeneity
Statistical analysis of centrality measures:

linear scale
Poisson
vs.
Power-law
log-scale
 Exp. vs. Scale-Free
Poisson distribution Power-law distribution

Exponential Scale-free
 Consequences
Power-law tails
P(k) ∼ k-γ
Average= k =∫ k P(k)dk
Fluctuations
 k2  =∫ k2 P(k) dk ∼ kc3-γ
kc=cut-off due to finite-size
N → ∞ => diverging degree fluctuations
for γ < 3

Level of heterogeneity:
Other heterogeneity levels

Weights

Strengths
Other heterogeneity levels

Betweenness
centrality
Clustering and correlations

non-trivial
structures
 Complex networks
Complex is not just “complicated”

Cars, airplanes…=> complicated, not complex

Complex (no unique definition):

•many interacting units
•no centralized authority, self-organized
•complicated at all scales
•evolving structures
•emerging properties (heavy-tails, hierarchies…)
Examples: Internet, WWW, Social nets, etc…
Example: Internet growth
Main features of complex networks
•Many interacting units
•Self-organization
•Small-world
•Scale-free heterogeneity
•Dynamical evolution Standard graph theory
Random graphs
•Static
•Ad-hoc topology

Example: Internet topology generators

Modeling of the Internet structure with ad-hoc algorithms
tailored on the properties we consider more relevant
 Statistical physics approach
Microscopic processes of the
many component units

Macroscopic statistical and dynamical

properties of the system

Cooperative phenomena Natural outcome of

Complex topology the dynamical evolution

Development of new modeling frameworks

 New modeling frameworks
Example: preferential attachment
(1) GROWTH : At every timestep we add a new
node with m edges (connected to the nodes already
present in the system).
ki
(2) PREFERENTIAL ATTACHMENT : Π ( ki ) =
The probability that a new node will be connected to Σ jk j
node i depends on the connectivity ki of that node

… and many other mechanisms and models

P(k) ~k-3

A.-L.Barabási, R. Albert, Science 286, 509 (1999)