Community detection and influential node identification in complex networks using mathematical programming

摘要

Integer programming models for community detection in relational networks have diverse applications in different fields. From making our lives easier by improving search engine optimization to saving our lives by aiding in threat detection and disaster management, researches in this niche have added value to human experience and knowledge. Besides the community structure, the influential nodes or members in a complex network are highly effective at diffusing information quickly to others in the community. Prior research dealing with the use of optimization models for clustering networks has independently focused on detecting communities. In this research, we propose a new integer linear programming model to detect community structure in real-life networks and also identify the most influential node within each community. We validate the proposed model by testing it on a well-established community network. Further, the performance of the proposed model is evaluated by comparing it with the existing best performing optimization model as well as three heuristic approaches for community detection. The experimental results indicate that in most cases the proposed integer programming model performs better than the existing optimization model with respect to modularity, Silhouette coefficient and computational time. Besides, our model yields superior Silhouette and competitive modularity values compared to the heuristic approaches in many cases. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.