Concurrency and reachability in treelike temporal networks

Area of Science:

• Network science
• Complex systems
• Data science

Background:

• Spreading processes, from simple contagions to complex cascades, are governed by network properties.
• Analysis has expanded from static to temporal networks, where connections change over time.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of accessibility and reachability on spreading processes in temporal networks.
• To quantify how temporal network properties regulate reachability.

Main Methods:

• Analyzing temporal concurrency between edges.
• Assessing the structural cohesion of the network over time.
• Using simulation results and developing heterogeneous mean-field models for random networks.

Main Results:

• Reachability, defined by temporally consistent paths and accessibility graph density, inherently limits the extent of spreading.
• Temporal concurrency and structural cohesion are key network properties regulating reachability.

Conclusions:

• Understanding temporal network structure is crucial for predicting and controlling spreading processes.
• The developed models provide a quantitative framework for analyzing reachability in dynamic network environments.