Entropy measures for networks: Toward an information theory of complex topologies
Physical Review E, 80 (4):
045102 (2009)DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.80.045102
Abstract
The quantification of the complexity of networks is, today, a fundamental problem in the physics of complex systems. A possible roadmap to solve the problem is via extending key concepts of information theory to networks. In this Rapid Communication we propose how to define the Shannon entropy of a network ensemble and how it relates to the Gibbs and von Neumann entropies of network ensembles. The quantities we introduce here will play a crucial role for the formulation of null models of networks through maximum-entropy arguments and will contribute to inference problems emerging in the field of complex networks.