Surfacic networks

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Barthelemy, Marc, Boeing, Geoff, Chiarada, Alain, Webster, Chris
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866915251091406848
author Barthelemy, Marc
Boeing, Geoff
Chiarada, Alain
Webster, Chris
author_facet Barthelemy, Marc
Boeing, Geoff
Chiarada, Alain
Webster, Chris
contents Surfacic networks are structures built upon a two-dimensional manifold. Many systems, including transportation networks and various urban networks, fall into this category. The fluctuations of node elevations imply significant deviations from typical plane networks and require specific tools to understand their impact. Here, we present such tools, including lazy paths that minimize elevation differences, graph arduousness which measures the tiring nature of shortest paths, and the excess effort, which characterizes positive elevation variations along shortest paths. We illustrate these measures using toy models of surfacic networks and empirically examine pedestrian networks in selected cities. Specifically, we examine how changes in elevation affect the spatial distribution of betweenness centrality. We also demonstrate that the excess effort follows a non-trivial power law distribution, with an exponent that is not universal, which illustrates that there is a significant probability of encountering steep slopes along shortest paths, regardless of the elevation difference between the starting point and the destination. These findings highlight the significance of elevation fluctuations in shaping network characteristics. Surfacic networks offer a promising framework for comprehensively analyzing and modeling complex systems that are situated on or constrained to a surface environment.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_02484
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Surfacic networks
Barthelemy, Marc
Boeing, Geoff
Chiarada, Alain
Webster, Chris
Physics and Society
Disordered Systems and Neural Networks
Statistical Mechanics
Surfacic networks are structures built upon a two-dimensional manifold. Many systems, including transportation networks and various urban networks, fall into this category. The fluctuations of node elevations imply significant deviations from typical plane networks and require specific tools to understand their impact. Here, we present such tools, including lazy paths that minimize elevation differences, graph arduousness which measures the tiring nature of shortest paths, and the excess effort, which characterizes positive elevation variations along shortest paths. We illustrate these measures using toy models of surfacic networks and empirically examine pedestrian networks in selected cities. Specifically, we examine how changes in elevation affect the spatial distribution of betweenness centrality. We also demonstrate that the excess effort follows a non-trivial power law distribution, with an exponent that is not universal, which illustrates that there is a significant probability of encountering steep slopes along shortest paths, regardless of the elevation difference between the starting point and the destination. These findings highlight the significance of elevation fluctuations in shaping network characteristics. Surfacic networks offer a promising framework for comprehensively analyzing and modeling complex systems that are situated on or constrained to a surface environment.
title Surfacic networks
topic Physics and Society
Disordered Systems and Neural Networks
Statistical Mechanics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.02484