Hierarchical Community Detection in Bipartite Networks

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Ghosh, Tania, Bassler, Kevin E.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Ghosh, Tania
Bassler, Kevin E.
author_facet Ghosh, Tania
Bassler, Kevin E.
contents Many bipartite networks exhibit hierarchical community structure, but existing community detection methods are not well-suited for detecting hierarchy. They also do not effectively handle weighted bipartite networks. In this work, we introduce a novel modularity-based objective function, called the generalized bipartite modularity density, Qbg, specifically designed for hierarchical community detection in bipartite systems. The framework incorporates a tunable resolution parameter that enables systematic exploration of community structure across multiple scales. It leverages resolution-limit behavior in bipartite networks as a tool to uncover hierarchical organization without projecting the network or altering its intrinsic bipartite topology. We evaluate the method using a hierarchical synthetic bipartite benchmark and apply it to two empirical networks. In all cases, Qbg recovers established mesoscale structure while revealing additional hierarchical and fine-scale organization beyond that detected by conventional bipartite approaches. These results establish Qbg as a flexible, interpretable, and resolution-aware framework for hierarchical community detection in bipartite networks.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_08793
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Hierarchical Community Detection in Bipartite Networks
Ghosh, Tania
Bassler, Kevin E.
Social and Information Networks
Computational Physics
Many bipartite networks exhibit hierarchical community structure, but existing community detection methods are not well-suited for detecting hierarchy. They also do not effectively handle weighted bipartite networks. In this work, we introduce a novel modularity-based objective function, called the generalized bipartite modularity density, Qbg, specifically designed for hierarchical community detection in bipartite systems. The framework incorporates a tunable resolution parameter that enables systematic exploration of community structure across multiple scales. It leverages resolution-limit behavior in bipartite networks as a tool to uncover hierarchical organization without projecting the network or altering its intrinsic bipartite topology. We evaluate the method using a hierarchical synthetic bipartite benchmark and apply it to two empirical networks. In all cases, Qbg recovers established mesoscale structure while revealing additional hierarchical and fine-scale organization beyond that detected by conventional bipartite approaches. These results establish Qbg as a flexible, interpretable, and resolution-aware framework for hierarchical community detection in bipartite networks.
title Hierarchical Community Detection in Bipartite Networks
topic Social and Information Networks
Computational Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.08793