Table of Contents

Preface; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; 1. Preliminaries: networks and graphs; 2. Networks and complexity; 3. Network models; 4. Introduction to dynamical processes: theory and simulation; 5. Phase transitions on complex networks; 6. Resilience and robustness of networks; 7. Synchronization phenomena in networks; 8. Walking and searching on networks; 9. Epidemic spreading in population networks; 10. Social networks and collective behavior; 11. Traffic on complex networks; 12. Networks in biology: from the cell to ecosystems; 13. Postface: critically examining complex networks science; Appendixes; References; Index.

Promotional Information

An in-depth account on complex connectivity patterns for graduates and researchers in statistical mechanics, mathematical biology and information science.

About the Author

Alain Barrat is a Senior Researcher at the Laboratoire de Physique Theorique (CNRS and Universite de Paris-Sud, France), and the Complex Networks Lagrange Laboratory at the Institute for Scientific Interchange in Turin, Italy. His research interests are in the field of out of equilibrium statistical mechanics. Marc Barthelemy is Senior Researcher at the Departement de Physique Theorique et Appliquee at the Commissariat ... l'Energie Atomique (CEA), France. His research interests are in the application of statistical physics to complex systems. Alessandro Vespignani is Professor of Informatics and Adjunct Professor of Physics and Statistics at Indiana University, USA, and Director of the Complex Network Lagrange Laboratory at the Institute for Scientific Interchange in Torino, Italy. His research interests are in the theoretical and computational modeling of complex systems and networks.

Reviews

Review of the hardback: 'With a focus in dynamical processes, this book is an excellent introduction … on the statistical mechanics approach of networks … Not only [does] it consist of a wide array of commonly used techniques in the discipline but also it provides multitudes of the techniques' applied examples … this book could serve as an introduction book and a reference to new-to-the-topic JASSS readers. To conclude, I believe that this book has contributed another step in integrating the vast multidisciplinary approaches in network science.' Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation

Review of the hardback: '… the book does a terrific and admirable job at putting some order into the wealth of research that has emerged during the last decade … a fantastic resource book on dynamical processes on complex networks, and its wide scope promises to keep it relevant for several years to come.' Journal of Statistical Physics

Review of the hardback: '… a very useful book that fills an important gap in the market of books on networks … I will be opening this book whenever I want to start modelling a dynamical process on a network.' Contemporary Physics

'The book does a remarkably good job in getting to the mathematical foundations of dynamical processes and complex networks. Hence, it should belong in the bookshelf of any sociologist who is seriously interested in complex and dynamic networks. It gives a great overview of techniques in the field and provides the mathematical depth one wishes for in a manner sociologists can understand. In sum, the book has potential to become a reference like Wasserman and Faust (1994) and offers significant (technical) value to sociologists who seriously want to get into the mathematics behind dynamical processes and complex networks.' Thomas U. Grund, Journal of Mathematical Sociology