https://doi.org/10.1140/epjds/s13688-024-00458-1
Research
The simpliciality of higher-order networks
1
Vermont Complex Systems Center, University of Vermont, 82 Innovation Pl, 05405, Burlington, USA
2
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Vermont, 82 Innovation Pl, 05405, Burlington, USA
3
Department of Computer Science, Grinnell College, 1116 8th Ave, 50112, Grinnell, USA
Received:
8
November
2023
Accepted:
26
February
2024
Published online:
7
March
2024
Higher-order networks are widely used to describe complex systems in which interactions can involve more than two entities at once. In this paper, we focus on inclusion within higher-order networks, referring to situations where specific entities participate in an interaction, and subsets of those entities also interact with each other. Traditional modeling approaches to higher-order networks tend to either not consider inclusion at all (e.g., hypergraph models) or explicitly assume perfect and complete inclusion (e.g., simplicial complex models). To allow for a more nuanced assessment of inclusion in higher-order networks, we introduce the concept of “simpliciality” and several corresponding measures. Contrary to current modeling practice, we show that empirically observed systems rarely lie at either end of the simpliciality spectrum. In addition, we show that generative models fitted to these datasets struggle to capture their inclusion structure. These findings suggest new modeling directions for the field of higher-order network science.
Key words: Higher-order network / Hypergraph / Simplicial complex / Simpliciality
© The Author(s) 2024
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