Hearty congratulations to Marcus Engsig, Associate Researcher, Directed Energy Research Center (DERC), for successfully quantifying the dominance of networks’ nodes in their respective neighborhoods by introducing DomiRank, a new centrality metric that helps determine the importance of each node in this network. In short, Engsig shows how exploiting unimportant friends and colluding with others can make you critical for network robustness and functionality.
DomiRank assesses the dominance of nodes by integrating local and global topological information via a tuneable parameter – allowing us to ascertain which nodes are crucial in determining the stability of the entire network. This innovative breakthrough will help determine the key elements of interconnected infrastructure and complex systems which is paramount to system functionality and integrity.
Engsig presented an analytical formula and a corresponding algorithm to enhance DomiRank centrality, making it more suitable for massive networks. From a network structure and functionality perspective, nodes with high DomiRank values indicate vulnerable areas that are heavily dependent on dominant nodes for stability and operation. These dominant nodes, in turn, represent the degree of power or influence wielded by specific points within the network.
Highlighting the connection between dominance and vulnerability, Engsig demonstrated that DomiRank consistently outperforms other centrality metrics in carrying out targeted attacks that effectively compromise network structure and disrupt functionality in both artificial and real-world network setups. Further, he showed that attacks based on DomiRank lead to more lasting damage to the network, hindering its ability to recover and thereby, compromising system resilience.
His research paper, titled “DomiRank Centrality reveals structural fragility of complex net-works via node dominance”, was published in Nature Communications, a high-level, peer-reviewed multidisciplinary journal covering all areas of the biological, health, physical, chemical, Earth, social, mathematical, applied, and engineering sciences.
Kudos once again on this remarkable achievement!
To read the paper, click here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-44257-0
