Can we neglect the multi-layer structure of functional networks?

Abstract

Functional networks, i.e. networks representing dynamic relationships between the components of a complex system, have been instrumental for our understanding of, among others, the human brain. Due to limited data availability, the multi-layer nature of numerous functional networks has hitherto been neglected, and nodes are endowed with a single type of links even when multiple relationships coexist at different physical levels. A relevant problem is the assessment of the benefits yielded by studying a multi-layer functional network, against the simplicity guaranteed by the reconstruction and use of the corresponding single layer projection. Here, I tackle this issue by using as a test case, the functional network representing the dynamics of delay propagation through European airports. Neglecting the multi-layer structure of a functional network has dramatic consequences on our understanding of the underlying system, a fact to be taken into account when a projection is the only available information.

19 pages, 4 figures. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, In Press, Uncorrected Proof, Available online 4 March 2015 See also interactive graphs at http://www.mzanin.com/Interactive/ATMCausality/

References in corpus (14)

• Emergence of scaling in random networks
• The structure and function of complex networks
• Efficient Behavior of Small-World Networks
• Assortative mixing in networks
• Measuring Information Transfer
• Catastrophic cascade of failures in interdependent networks
• The structure and dynamics of multilayer networks
• The worldwide air transportation network: Anomalous centrality, community structure, and cities' global roles
• Prediction and predictability of global epidemics: the role of the airline transportation network
• Statistical analysis of 22 public transport networks in Poland
• Modelling the Air Transport with Complex Networks: a short review
• Entropy Optimization of Scale-Free Networks Robustness to Random Failures
• Jamming transition in air transportation networks
• Information content: assessing meso-scale structures in complex networks

Cited by in corpus (13)

• Chimera states in a multilayer network of coupled and uncoupled neurons
• Bond percolation on multiplex networks
• A Review on Flight Delay Prediction
• Multiplex decomposition of non-Markovian dynamics and the hidden layer reconstruction problem
• Reconstruction of multiplex networks via graph embeddings
• Taming Chimeras in Networks through Multiplexing Delays
• Approximation methods for the stability of complete synchronization on duplex networks
• Node-layer duality in networked systems
• Phase changes in delay propagation networks
• Multiplex reconstruction with partial information
• Low Cost Carriers induce specific and identifiable delay propagation patterns: an analysis of the EU and US systems
• Multiscale modeling of brain network organization
• On the degree of synchronization between air transport connectivity and COVID-19 cases at worldwide level