Guimerà Roger, Amaral Luís A Nunes
NICO and Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA E-mail:
J Stat Mech. 2005 Feb 1;2005(P02001):nihpa35573. doi: 10.1088/1742-5468/2005/02/P02001.
Integrative approaches to the study of complex systems demand that one knows the manner in which the parts comprising the system are connected. The structure of the complex network defining the interactions provides insight into the function and evolution of the components of the system. Unfortunately, the large size and intricacy of these networks implies that such insight is usually difficult to extract. Here, we propose a method that allows one to systematically extract and display information contained in complex networks. Specifically, we demonstrate that one can (i) find modules in complex networks and (ii) classify nodes into universal roles according to their pattern of within- and between-module connections. The method thus yields a 'cartographic representation' of complex networks.
对复杂系统进行综合研究的方法要求人们了解构成系统的各个部分之间的连接方式。定义相互作用的复杂网络结构为洞察系统组件的功能和演化提供了线索。不幸的是，这些网络的规模巨大且错综复杂，这意味着通常很难提取到这样的线索。在此，我们提出一种方法，该方法能够让人们系统地提取并展示复杂网络中包含的信息。具体而言，我们证明人们可以（i）在复杂网络中找到模块，以及（ii）根据节点在模块内部和模块之间的连接模式将其分类为通用角色。因此，该方法产生了复杂网络的“地图表示”。
