Abstract
Networks with a community (or modular) structure underlie many social and biological phenomena. In such a network individuals tend to form sparsely linked local communities, each having dense internal connections. We investigate the dynamics of information propagation on modular networks by using a three-state epidemic model with a unit spreading rate (i.e., the probability for a susceptible individual to be "infected" with the information is one). We find a surprising, resonancelike phenomenon: the information lifetime on the network can be maximized by the number of modules. The result can be useful for optimizing or controlling information spread on social or biological networks.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 035103 |
Journal | Physical Review E - Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics |
Volume | 73 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2006 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
- Statistics and Probability
- Condensed Matter Physics