TY - JOUR
T1 - Detecting the overlapping and hierarchical community structure in complex networks
AU - Lancichinetti, Andrea
AU - Fortunato, Santo
AU - Kertész, János
PY - 2009/3/10
Y1 - 2009/3/10
N2 - Many networks in nature, society and technology are characterized by a mesoscopic level of organization, with groups of nodes forming tightly connected units, called communities or modules, that are only weakly linked to each other. Uncovering this community structure is one of the most important problems in the field of complex networks. Networks often show a hierarchical organization, with communities embedded within other communities; moreover, nodes can be shared between different communities. Here, we present the first algorithm that finds both overlapping communities and the hierarchical structure. The method is based on the local optimization of a fitness function. Community structure is revealed by peaks in the fitness histogram. The resolution can be tuned by a parameter enabling different hierarchical levels of organization to be investigated. Tests on real and artificial networks give excellent results.
AB - Many networks in nature, society and technology are characterized by a mesoscopic level of organization, with groups of nodes forming tightly connected units, called communities or modules, that are only weakly linked to each other. Uncovering this community structure is one of the most important problems in the field of complex networks. Networks often show a hierarchical organization, with communities embedded within other communities; moreover, nodes can be shared between different communities. Here, we present the first algorithm that finds both overlapping communities and the hierarchical structure. The method is based on the local optimization of a fitness function. Community structure is revealed by peaks in the fitness histogram. The resolution can be tuned by a parameter enabling different hierarchical levels of organization to be investigated. Tests on real and artificial networks give excellent results.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=64549145094&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1088/1367-2630/11/3/033015
DO - 10.1088/1367-2630/11/3/033015
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:64549145094
SN - 1367-2630
VL - 11
JO - New Journal of Physics
JF - New Journal of Physics
M1 - 033015
ER -