Mittag-Leffler functions and their applications in network science

Abstract

We describe a complete theory for walk-based centrality indices in complex networks defined in terms of Mittag-Leffler functions. This overarching theory includes as special cases well-known centrality measures like subgraph centrality and Katz centrality. The indices we introduce are parametrized by two numbers; by letting these vary, we show that Mittag-Leffler centralities interpolate between degree and eigenvector centrality, as well as between resolvent-based and exponential-based indices. We further discuss modeling and computational issues, and provide guidelines on parameter selection. The theory is then extended to the case of networks that evolve over time. Numerical experiments on synthetic and real-world networks are provided.