Dynamics of information diffusion and its applications on complex networks

Review (2016)
Author(s)

Zi-Ke Zhang (Hangzhou Normal University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University)

Chuang Liu (Hangzhou Normal University)

Xiuxiu Zhan (Hangzhou Normal University, TU Delft - Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science)

Xin Lu (National University of Defense Technology, Karolinska Institutet)

Chu-Xu Zhang (Rutgers University)

Yi-Cheng Zhang (University of Fribourg, Hangzhou Normal University)

Research Group
Multimedia Computing
DOI related publication
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physrep.2016.07.002 Final published version
More Info
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Publication Year
2016
Language
English
Research Group
Multimedia Computing
Volume number
651
Pages (from-to)
1-34
Downloads counter
258

Abstract

The ongoing rapid expansion of the Word Wide Web (WWW) greatly increases the information of effective transmission from heterogeneous individuals to various systems. Extensive research for information diffusion is introduced by a broad range of communities including social and computer scientists, physicists, and interdisciplinary researchers. Despite substantial theoretical and empirical studies, unification and comparison of different theories and approaches are lacking, which impedes further advances. In this article, we review recent developments in information diffusion and discuss the major challenges. We compare and evaluate available models and algorithms to respectively investigate their physical roles and optimization designs. Potential impacts and future directions are discussed. We emphasize that information diffusion has great scientific depth and combines diverse research fields which makes it interesting for physicists as well as interdisciplinary researchers.