Fundamental Patterns of Signal Propagation in Complex Networks

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new, robust framework for analyzing signal propagation in complex networks, revealing key motifs and principles that influence how perturbations spread, with implications for system control and resilience.

Contribution

It develops a general dynamic model-based framework that uncovers critical network motifs affecting propagation, surpassing previous methods in decoupling interactions and analyzing complex structures.

Findings

Identifies dense network motifs with significant influence on signal spread

Reveals orders of magnitude differences compared to previous models

Provides insights into fundamental principles and negative feedback in complex systems

Abstract

Various disasters stem from minor perturbations, such as the spread of infectious diseases, cascading failure in power grids, etc. Analyzing perturbations is crucial for both theoretical and application fields. Previous researchers have proposed basic propagation patterns for perturbation and explored the impact of basic network motifs on the collective response to these perturbations, However, the current framework is limited in its ability to decouple interactions, and therefore cannot analyze more complex structures. In this article, we establish an effective, robust and powerful propagation framework under a general dynamic model. This framework reveals common and dense network motifs that exert a critical influence on signal propagation, often spanning orders of magnitude compared with conclusions generated by previous work. Moreover, our framework provides a new approach to understand the fundamental principles of complex systems and the negative feedback mechanism, which is of great significance for research of system controlling and network resilience.