Regensburg 2022 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 16: Networks: From Topology to Dynamics (joint session SOE/BP/DY)

BP 16.3: Vortrag

Mittwoch, 7. September 2022, 11:00–11:15, H11

Variability in mesoscale structure inference using stochastic blockmodels — •Lena Mangold and Camille Roth — CNRS (Paris) / Centre Marc Bloch (Berlin)

Characterising the mesoscale structure of networks, in terms of patterns variously called communities, blocks, or clusters, has represented both a central issue and a key instrument in the study of complex systems. Clearly, distinct methods designed to detect different types of patterns may provide a variety of answers to the mesoscale structure. Yet, even multiple runs of a given method can sometimes yield diverse and conflicting results, posing challenges of model and partition selection. As an alternative to forcing a global consensus from a distribution of partitions (i.e. choosing one among many by maximising some objective), recent work has emphasised the importance of exploring the variability of partitions. Here we examine how a specific type of mesoscale structure (e.g. assortative communities or core-periphery) may be linked with more or less inconsistency in resulting partitions. We focus on Stochastic blockmodels (SBMs), initially proposed in mathematical sociology and increasingly used to infer mesoscale structure with a relatively general definition of similarity between nodes in the same group, and whose stochastic nature lends itself to the exploration of disagreement within populations of partitions. In particular, we generate families of synthetic networks in which we plant different types of mesoscale structures and explore the transitions between consensus and dissensus in the landscape of partitions over multiple SBM runs.