Deciphering the overtaking phenomenon initiated by low-centrality nodes in spreading processes Article Swipe
YOU?
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· 2025
· Open Access
·
· DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-025-02183-1
Identifying seed nodes to maximize the final size of spreading is an important research subject in network science. While traditional researches focus on central nodes, the potential and mechanisms by which periphery nodes might initiate large spreading events are less explored. Here, we show that outbreaks initiated by nodes with the lowest centrality can overtake those initiated by nodes with the highest centrality in scenarios involving multiple seed nodes. This result is consistent across diverse empirical and synthetic networks and for various centrality measures. We decipher this phenomenon by dissecting the spreading dynamics into outbreak size and outbreak probability, informed by the bimodal distributions inherent in stochastic spreading processes. To further elucidate this overtaking effect, we present mathematical proofs based on percolation theory. This research advances the understanding of network spreading and highlights the overlooked potential of lower-centrality nodes, especially given their cost-effectiveness in many real-world spreading applications.
Related Topics
- Type
- article
- Language
- en
- Landing Page
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-025-02183-1
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s42005-025-02183-1.pdf
- OA Status
- gold
- References
- 58
- Related Works
- 10
- OpenAlex ID
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Raw OpenAlex JSON
- OpenAlex ID
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https://openalex.org/W4411887002Canonical identifier for this work in OpenAlex
- DOI
-
https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-025-02183-1Digital Object Identifier
- Title
-
Deciphering the overtaking phenomenon initiated by low-centrality nodes in spreading processesWork title
- Type
-
articleOpenAlex work type
- Language
-
enPrimary language
- Publication year
-
2025Year of publication
- Publication date
-
2025-07-01Full publication date if available
- Authors
-
Wenchao He, Chao Gao, Tao JiaList of authors in order
- Landing page
-
https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-025-02183-1Publisher landing page
- PDF URL
-
https://www.nature.com/articles/s42005-025-02183-1.pdfDirect link to full text PDF
- Open access
-
YesWhether a free full text is available
- OA status
-
goldOpen access status per OpenAlex
- OA URL
-
https://www.nature.com/articles/s42005-025-02183-1.pdfDirect OA link when available
- Concepts
-
Overtaking, Phenomenon, Centrality, Business, Epistemology, Engineering, Mathematics, Philosophy, Transport engineering, CombinatoricsTop concepts (fields/topics) attached by OpenAlex
- Cited by
-
0Total citation count in OpenAlex
- References (count)
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58Number of works referenced by this work
- Related works (count)
-
10Other works algorithmically related by OpenAlex
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| abstract_inverted_index.distributions | 104 |
| abstract_inverted_index.understanding | 128 |
| abstract_inverted_index.lower-centrality | 138 |
| abstract_inverted_index.cost-effectiveness | 143 |
| cited_by_percentile_year | |
| countries_distinct_count | 0 |
| institutions_distinct_count | 3 |
| sustainable_development_goals[0].id | https://metadata.un.org/sdg/8 |
| sustainable_development_goals[0].score | 0.41999998688697815 |
| sustainable_development_goals[0].display_name | Decent work and economic growth |
| citation_normalized_percentile.value | 0.2181508 |
| citation_normalized_percentile.is_in_top_1_percent | False |
| citation_normalized_percentile.is_in_top_10_percent | False |