Critical Nodes Identification in Complex Networks: A Survey

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Chen, Duxin, Chen, Jiawen, Zhang, Xiaoyu, Jia, Qinghan, Liu, Xiaolu, Sun, Ye, Lv, Linyuan, Yu, Wenwu
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Chen, Duxin
Chen, Jiawen
Zhang, Xiaoyu
Jia, Qinghan
Liu, Xiaolu
Sun, Ye
Lv, Linyuan
Yu, Wenwu
author_facet Chen, Duxin
Chen, Jiawen
Zhang, Xiaoyu
Jia, Qinghan
Liu, Xiaolu
Sun, Ye
Lv, Linyuan
Yu, Wenwu
contents Complex networks have become essential tools for understanding diverse phenomena in social systems, traffic systems, biomolecular systems, and financial systems. Identifying critical nodes is a central theme in contemporary research, serving as a vital bridge between theoretical foundations and practical applications. Nevertheless, the intrinsic complexity and structural heterogeneity characterizing real-world networks, with particular emphasis on dynamic and higher-order networks, present substantial obstacles to the development of universal frameworks for critical node identification. This paper provides a comprehensive review of critical node identification techniques, categorizing them into seven main classes: centrality, critical nodes deletion problem, influence maximization, network control, artificial intelligence, higher-order and dynamic methods. Our review bridges the gaps in existing surveys by systematically classifying methods based on their methodological foundations and practical implications, and by highlighting their strengths, limitations, and applicability across different network types. Our work enhances the understanding of critical node research by identifying key challenges, such as algorithmic universality, real-time evaluation in dynamic networks, analysis of higher-order structures, and computational efficiency in large-scale networks. The structured synthesis consolidates current progress and highlights open questions, particularly in modeling temporal dynamics, advancing efficient algorithms, integrating machine learning approaches, and developing scalable and interpretable metrics for complex systems.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_06164
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Critical Nodes Identification in Complex Networks: A Survey
Chen, Duxin
Chen, Jiawen
Zhang, Xiaoyu
Jia, Qinghan
Liu, Xiaolu
Sun, Ye
Lv, Linyuan
Yu, Wenwu
Social and Information Networks
Artificial Intelligence
Applied Physics
Complex networks have become essential tools for understanding diverse phenomena in social systems, traffic systems, biomolecular systems, and financial systems. Identifying critical nodes is a central theme in contemporary research, serving as a vital bridge between theoretical foundations and practical applications. Nevertheless, the intrinsic complexity and structural heterogeneity characterizing real-world networks, with particular emphasis on dynamic and higher-order networks, present substantial obstacles to the development of universal frameworks for critical node identification. This paper provides a comprehensive review of critical node identification techniques, categorizing them into seven main classes: centrality, critical nodes deletion problem, influence maximization, network control, artificial intelligence, higher-order and dynamic methods. Our review bridges the gaps in existing surveys by systematically classifying methods based on their methodological foundations and practical implications, and by highlighting their strengths, limitations, and applicability across different network types. Our work enhances the understanding of critical node research by identifying key challenges, such as algorithmic universality, real-time evaluation in dynamic networks, analysis of higher-order structures, and computational efficiency in large-scale networks. The structured synthesis consolidates current progress and highlights open questions, particularly in modeling temporal dynamics, advancing efficient algorithms, integrating machine learning approaches, and developing scalable and interpretable metrics for complex systems.
title Critical Nodes Identification in Complex Networks: A Survey
topic Social and Information Networks
Artificial Intelligence
Applied Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.06164