Efficient allocation of heterogeneous response times in information spreading process

Area of Science:

• Complex systems
• Network science
• Information diffusion

Background:

• Spatiotemporal heterogeneities in human activities significantly impact spreading dynamics.
• Understanding individual-level response time variations is crucial for modeling information diffusion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how heterogeneous response time distributions influence information spreading dynamics.
• To analyze the effects of response time-degree correlation on spread.

Main Methods:

• Utilized susceptible-infected spreading models on uncorrelated scale-free networks.
• Incorporated adjustable power-law response time distributions.
• Examined dynamics across early, middle, and late stages of spread.

Main Results:

• Increased response time heterogeneity accelerates early and middle-stage information spread.
• Reduced response time-degree correlation also enhances early and middle-stage spread.
• Late-stage spread exhibits complex dynamics with optimal full prevalence times influenced by heterogeneity and correlation.

Conclusions:

• Heterogeneity in response times is a key driver of information spreading speed.
• Network structure and individual response characteristics interact to shape diffusion patterns.
• Optimal network performance in terms of spread duration can be achieved by managing response time distributions and correlations.