An edge centrality measure based on the Kemeny constant

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel edge centrality measure based on the Kemeny constant that effectively identifies bottleneck edges in networks, avoiding the Braess paradox and applicable to real-world road networks.

Contribution

It proposes a new centrality measure derived from the Kemeny constant variation, with a numerical computation method and regularization for disconnected graphs.

Findings

Effectively identifies bottleneck roads in networks.

Avoids the Braess paradox in centrality assessment.

Demonstrates utility on real road network data.

Abstract

A new measure $c(e)$ of the centrality of an edge $e$ in an undirected graph $G$ is introduced. It is based on the variation of the Kemeny constant of the graph after removing the edge $e$. The new measure is designed in such a way that the Braess paradox is avoided. A numerical method for computing $c(e)$ is introduced and a regularization technique is designed in order to deal with cut-edges and disconnected graphs. Numerical experiments performed on synthetic tests and on real road networks show that this measure is particularly effective in revealing bottleneck roads whose removal would greatly reduce the connectivity of the network.