Potential theory for directed networks.
Uncovering factors underlying the network formation is a long-standing challenge for data mining and network analysis. In particular, the microscopic organizing principles of directed networks are less understood than those of undirected networks. This article proposes a hypothesis named potential t...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2013-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3569429?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1811263746664824832 |
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| author | Qian-Ming Zhang Linyuan Lü Wen-Qiang Wang Yu-Xiao Zhu Yu-Xiao Tao Zhou |
| author_facet | Qian-Ming Zhang Linyuan Lü Wen-Qiang Wang Yu-Xiao Zhu Yu-Xiao Tao Zhou |
| author_sort | Qian-Ming Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Uncovering factors underlying the network formation is a long-standing challenge for data mining and network analysis. In particular, the microscopic organizing principles of directed networks are less understood than those of undirected networks. This article proposes a hypothesis named potential theory, which assumes that every directed link corresponds to a decrease of a unit potential and subgraphs with definable potential values for all nodes are preferred. Combining the potential theory with the clustering and homophily mechanisms, it is deduced that the Bi-fan structure consisting of 4 nodes and 4 directed links is the most favored local structure in directed networks. Our hypothesis receives strongly positive supports from extensive experiments on 15 directed networks drawn from disparate fields, as indicated by the most accurate and robust performance of Bi-fan predictor within the link prediction framework. In summary, our main contribution is twofold: (i) We propose a new mechanism for the local organization of directed networks; (ii) We design the corresponding link prediction algorithm, which can not only testify our hypothesis, but also find out direct applications in missing link prediction and friendship recommendation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T19:50:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-37404b2e01c546aa8bd6e44ba6b6db3b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T19:50:46Z |
| publishDate | 2013-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-37404b2e01c546aa8bd6e44ba6b6db3b2022-12-22T03:18:49ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-0182e5543710.1371/journal.pone.0055437Potential theory for directed networks.Qian-Ming ZhangLinyuan LüWen-Qiang WangYu-Xiao ZhuYu-XiaoTao ZhouUncovering factors underlying the network formation is a long-standing challenge for data mining and network analysis. In particular, the microscopic organizing principles of directed networks are less understood than those of undirected networks. This article proposes a hypothesis named potential theory, which assumes that every directed link corresponds to a decrease of a unit potential and subgraphs with definable potential values for all nodes are preferred. Combining the potential theory with the clustering and homophily mechanisms, it is deduced that the Bi-fan structure consisting of 4 nodes and 4 directed links is the most favored local structure in directed networks. Our hypothesis receives strongly positive supports from extensive experiments on 15 directed networks drawn from disparate fields, as indicated by the most accurate and robust performance of Bi-fan predictor within the link prediction framework. In summary, our main contribution is twofold: (i) We propose a new mechanism for the local organization of directed networks; (ii) We design the corresponding link prediction algorithm, which can not only testify our hypothesis, but also find out direct applications in missing link prediction and friendship recommendation.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3569429?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Qian-Ming Zhang Linyuan Lü Wen-Qiang Wang Yu-Xiao Zhu Yu-Xiao Tao Zhou Potential theory for directed networks. PLoS ONE |
| title | Potential theory for directed networks. |
| title_full | Potential theory for directed networks. |
| title_fullStr | Potential theory for directed networks. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Potential theory for directed networks. |
| title_short | Potential theory for directed networks. |
| title_sort | potential theory for directed networks |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3569429?pdf=render |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT qianmingzhang potentialtheoryfordirectednetworks AT linyuanlu potentialtheoryfordirectednetworks AT wenqiangwang potentialtheoryfordirectednetworks AT yuxiaozhu potentialtheoryfordirectednetworks AT yuxiao potentialtheoryfordirectednetworks AT taozhou potentialtheoryfordirectednetworks |