Towards the Concept of Spatial Network Motifs

José Ferreira, Alberto Barbosa and Pedro Ribeiro

2022

Abstract

Many complex systems exist in the physical world and therefore can be modeled by networks in which their nodes and edges are embedded in space. However, classical network motifs only use purely topological information and disregard other features. In this paper we introduce a novel and general subgraph abstraction that incorporates spatial information, therefore enriching its characterization power. Moreover, we describe and implement a method to compute and count our spatial subgraphs in any given network. We also provide initial experimental results by using our methodology to produce spatial fingerprints of real road networks, showcasing its discrimination power and how it captures more than just simple topology.

Keywords

Spatial networks; Subgraphs; Network motifs

Reference (text)

José Ferreira, Alberto Barbosa and Pedro Ribeiro. Towards the Concept of Spatial Network Motifs. Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Complex Networks and their Applications (CNA), pp. 565-577, Springer, Palermo, Italy, November, 2022.

Bibtex

@inproceedings{ribeiro-CNA2022a,
  author = {José Ferreira and  Alberto Barbosa and Pedro Ribeiro},
  title = {Towards the Concept of Spatial Network Motifs},
  doi = {10.1007/978-3-031-21131-7_44},
  booktitle = {11th International Conference on Complex Networks and their Applications},
  pages = {565-577},
  publisher = {Springer},
  month = {November},
  year = {2022}
}