Dynamical Processes on Complex Networks

An in-depth account on complex connectivity patterns for graduates and researchers in statistical mechanics, mathematical biology and information science.

Alain Barrat (Author), Marc Barthélemy (Author), Alessandro Vespignani (Author)

9781107626256, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 11 October 2012

361 pages, 98 b/w illus.
24.5 x 17.3 x 1.9 cm, 0.67 kg

'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, Journal of Mathematical Sociology

The availability of large data sets has allowed researchers to uncover complex properties such as large-scale fluctuations and heterogeneities in many networks, leading 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. This book presents a comprehensive account of these effects. A vast number of systems, from the brain to ecosystems, power grids and the internet, can be represented as large complex networks. This book will interest graduate students and researchers in many disciplines, from physics and statistical mechanics to mathematical biology and information science. Its modular approach allows readers to readily access the sections of most interest to them, and complicated maths is avoided so the text can be easily followed by non-experts in the subject.

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.

Subject Areas: Statistical physics [PHS], Physics [PH], Mathematics & science [P]