Complex Networks and their Applications

Our centre is one of the leading centres in the UK and worldwide dealing with general aspects of the structure and dynamics of complex networks. The research of our staff has played an important role in further developing the theory of temporal, spatial and multilayer networks and of networks with higher-order interactions, pointing out a variety of applications. Staff members who mainly work in this area include (in alphabetic order) Ginestra Bianconi, Vito Latora, Vincenzo Nicosia, and Nicola Perra. Research interests cover a wide range of dynamics of and on networks, ranging from non-equilibrium network models to epidemic spreading and social contagion, synchronisation, game theory, to the collective dynamics of topological signals. Applications include the development of realistic models of epidemic spreading, studies of team creativity and success in innovation ecosystems, and the characterization of spatial systems, such as cities and the human brain, in terms of networks.   

The size of the giant component for higher-order networks can change in time, exhibiting a route to chaos (figure from H. Sun, F. Radicchi, J. Kurths and G. Bianconi, Nature Commun., 2023) 

Ethnic segregation patterns in urban areas, classified by means of the coverage time of random walks on associated spatial graphs (work by V. Nicosia et al.)