An information-theoretic framework for resolving community structure in complex networks
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Edited by Brian Skyrms, University of California, Irvine, CA, and approved March 12, 2007 (received for review December 13, 2006)
Abstract
To understand the structure of a large-scale biological, social, or technological network, it can be helpful to decompose the network into smaller subunits or modules. In this article, we develop an information-theoretic foundation for the concept of modularity in networks. We identify the modules of which the network is composed by finding an optimal compression of its topology, capitalizing on regularities in its structure. We explain the advantages of this approach and illustrate them by partitioning a number of real-world and model networks.
Footnotes
- †To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: rosvall{at}u.washington.edu
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Author contributions: M.R. and C.T.B. designed research, performed research, and wrote the paper.
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The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.
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Freely available online through the PNAS open access option.
- © 2007 by The National Academy of Sciences of the USA
