Extraction algorithm for optimal coarse-grained networks on complex networks

Abstract

Coarse-graining of complex networks is a hot topic in network science. Coarse-grained networks are required to preserve the topological information or dynamic properties of the original network. Some effective coarse-graining methods have been proposed, while an urgent problem is how to obtain coarse-grained network with optimal scale. In this paper, we propose an extraction algorithm (EA) for optimal coarse-grained networks. Numerical simulation for EA on four kinds of networks and performing Kuramoto model on optimal coarse-grained networks, we find our algorithm can effectively obtain the optimal coarse-grained network.