Effects of temporal correlations in social multiplex networks

Abstract

Multi-layered networks represent a major advance in the description of natural complex systems, and their study has shed light on new physical phenomena. Despite its importance, however, the role of the temporal dimension in their structure and function has not been investigated in much detail so far. Here we study the temporal correlations between layers exhibited by real social multiplex networks. At a basic level, the presence of such correlations implies a certain degree of predictability in the contact pattern, as we quantify by an extension of the entropy and mutual information analyses proposed for the single-layer case. At a different level, we demonstrate that temporal correlations are a signature of a 'multitasking' behavior of network agents, characterized by a higher level of switching between different social activities than expected in a uncorrelated pattern. Moreover, temporal correlations significantly affect the dynamics of coupled epidemic processes unfolding on the network. Our work opens the way for the systematic study of temporal multiplex networks and we anticipate it will be of interest to researchers in a broad array of fields.

References in corpus (3)

• The structure and dynamics of multilayer networks
• The physics of spreading processes in multilayer networks
• Aging and percolation dynamics in a Non-Poissonian temporal network model

Cited by in corpus (7)

• Coevolution spreading in complex networks
• A Framework for the Construction of Generative Models for Mesoscale Structure in Multilayer Networks
• Epidemic spreading on time-varying multiplex networks
• Social contagions with communication channels alternation on multiplex networks
• Prediction of scientific collaborations through multiplex interaction networks
• Link prediction in multiplex networks via triadic closure
• Impact of environmental changes on the dynamics of temporal networks