Dynamical Processes on Complex Networks

by Alain Barrat, Marc Barthélemy, Alessandro Vespignani

Overview

The availability of large data sets have allowed researchers to uncover complex properties such as large scale fluctuations and heterogeneities in many networks which have lead to the breakdown of standard theoretical frameworks and models. Until recently these systems were considered as haphazard sets of points and connections. Recent advances have generated a vigorous research effort in understanding the effect of complex connectivity patterns on dynamical phenomena. For example, a vast number of everyday systems, from the brain to ecosystems, power grids and the Internet, can be represented as large complex networks. This new and recent account presents a comprehensive explanation of these effects.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521879507
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	10/23/2008
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	366
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.80(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Alain Barrat is Senior Researcher at the Centre de Physique Théorique (CNRS and Aix-Marseille University, France) and at the Institute for Scientific Interchange in Turin, Italy. His research interests are in the field of out-of-equilibrium statistical mechanics.

Marc Barthélemy is Senior Researcher at the Institute for Theoretical Physics (IPhT) at the Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA), France. His research interests are in the application of statistical physics to complex systems.

Alessandro Vespignani is Sternberg Distinguished Professor in Physics, Computer Science and Health Science at Northeastern University, USA. He is also Fellow of the Institute for Quantitative Social Sciences at Harvard University and Scientific Director of the Institute for Scientific Interchange Foundation in Italy.

Table of Contents

Preface; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; 1. Preliminaries: networks and graphs; 2. Networks and complexity; 3. Network models; 4. Introduction to dynamical processes: theory and simulation; 5. Phase transitions on complex networks; 6. Resilience and robustness of networks; 7. Synchronization phenomena in networks; 8. Walking and searching on networks; 9. Epidemic spreading in population networks; 10. Social networks and collective behavior; 11. Traffic on complex networks; 12. Networks in biology: from the cell to ecosystems; 13. Postface: critically examining complex networks science; Appendixes; References; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"An excellent introduction book on the statistical mechanics approach of networks... I believe that this book has contributed another step in integrating the vast multi-disciplinary approaches in network science."
Laurent Tambayong, Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation

"... the book does a terrific and admirable job at putting some order into the wealth of research that has emerged during the last decade, providing an overview of the current state of the art, and guiding the reader to relevant sources of information. The impressive body of techniques and applications covered in the book gives a resounding answer to the critics, perhaps more convincing than the arguments at the book's end. This is a fantastic resource book on dynamical processes on complex networks, and its wide scope promises to keep it relevant for several years to come."
Daniel ben-Avraham, Journal of Statistical Physics

"... a very useful book that fills an important gap in the market of books on networks. I will be opening this book whenever I want to start modeling a dynamical process on a network."
Dr Tim Evans, Imperial College London for Contemporary Physics

"The book does a remarkably good job in getting to the mathematical foundations of dynamical processes and complex networks. Hence, it should belong in the bookshelf of any sociologist who is seriously interested in complex and dynamic networks. It gives a great overview of techniques in the field and provides the mathematical depth one wishes for in a manner sociologists can understand. In sum, the book has potential to become a reference like Wasserman and Faust (1994) and offers significant (technical) value to sociologists who seriously want to get into the mathematics behind dynamical processes and complex networks."
Thomas U. Grund, Universite de Montreal for Journal of Mathematical Sociology

From the Publisher