Abstract
Networks are pervasive across science and engineering, but seldom do we precisely know their topology. The information-theoretic notion of transfer entropy has been recently proposed as a potent means to unveil connectivity patterns underlying collective dynamics of complex systems. By pairwise comparing time series of units in the network, transfer entropy promises to determine whether the units are connected or not. Despite considerable progress, our understanding of transfer entropy-based network reconstruction largely relies on computer simulations, which hamper the precise and systematic assessment of the accuracy of the approach. In this paper, we present an analytical study of the information flow in a network model of policy diffusion, thereby establishing closed-form expressions for the transfer entropy between any pair of nodes. The model consists of a finite-state ergodic Markov chain, for which we compute the joint probability distribution. Our analytical results offer a compelling evidence for the potential of transfer entropy to assist in the process of network reconstruction, clarifying the role and extent of tenable confounds associated with spurious connections between nodes.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Journal | IEEE Transactions on Network Science and Engineering |
| DOIs | |
| State | Accepted/In press - Jul 22 2017 |
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Keywords
- Information theory
- network
- policy diffusion
- transfer entropy
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Control and Systems Engineering
- Computer Science Applications
- Computer Networks and Communications
Cite this
Information flow in a model of policy diffusion : an analytical study. / Porfiri, Maurizio; Ruiz Marin, Manuel.
In: IEEE Transactions on Network Science and Engineering, 22.07.2017.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Information flow in a model of policy diffusion
T2 - an analytical study
AU - Porfiri, Maurizio
AU - Ruiz Marin, Manuel
PY - 2017/7/22
Y1 - 2017/7/22
N2 - Networks are pervasive across science and engineering, but seldom do we precisely know their topology. The information-theoretic notion of transfer entropy has been recently proposed as a potent means to unveil connectivity patterns underlying collective dynamics of complex systems. By pairwise comparing time series of units in the network, transfer entropy promises to determine whether the units are connected or not. Despite considerable progress, our understanding of transfer entropy-based network reconstruction largely relies on computer simulations, which hamper the precise and systematic assessment of the accuracy of the approach. In this paper, we present an analytical study of the information flow in a network model of policy diffusion, thereby establishing closed-form expressions for the transfer entropy between any pair of nodes. The model consists of a finite-state ergodic Markov chain, for which we compute the joint probability distribution. Our analytical results offer a compelling evidence for the potential of transfer entropy to assist in the process of network reconstruction, clarifying the role and extent of tenable confounds associated with spurious connections between nodes.
AB - Networks are pervasive across science and engineering, but seldom do we precisely know their topology. The information-theoretic notion of transfer entropy has been recently proposed as a potent means to unveil connectivity patterns underlying collective dynamics of complex systems. By pairwise comparing time series of units in the network, transfer entropy promises to determine whether the units are connected or not. Despite considerable progress, our understanding of transfer entropy-based network reconstruction largely relies on computer simulations, which hamper the precise and systematic assessment of the accuracy of the approach. In this paper, we present an analytical study of the information flow in a network model of policy diffusion, thereby establishing closed-form expressions for the transfer entropy between any pair of nodes. The model consists of a finite-state ergodic Markov chain, for which we compute the joint probability distribution. Our analytical results offer a compelling evidence for the potential of transfer entropy to assist in the process of network reconstruction, clarifying the role and extent of tenable confounds associated with spurious connections between nodes.
KW - Information theory
KW - network
KW - policy diffusion
KW - transfer entropy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85028916440&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85028916440&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/TNSE.2017.2731212
DO - 10.1109/TNSE.2017.2731212
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85028916440
JO - IEEE Transactions on Network Science and Engineering
JF - IEEE Transactions on Network Science and Engineering
SN - 2327-4697
ER -