Scientific article
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Community detection for directed networks revisited using bimodularity

Publication date2025-09-02
First online date2025-08-25
Abstract

Community structure is a key feature omnipresent in real-world network data. Plethora of methods have been proposed to reveal subsets of densely interconnected nodes using criteria such as the modularity index. These approaches have been successful for undirected graphs but directed edge information has not yet been dealt with in a satisfactory way. Here, we revisit the concept of directed communities as a mapping between sending and receiving communities. This translates into a definition that we term bimodularity. Using convex relaxation, bimodularity can be optimized with the singular value decomposition of the directed modularity matrix. Subsequently, we propose an edge-based clustering approach to reveal the directed communities including their mappings. The feasibility of the framework is illustrated on a synthetic model and further applied to the neuronal wiring diagram of the Caenorhabditis elegans , for which it yields meaningful feedforward loops of the head and body motion systems. This framework sets the ground for the understanding and detection of community structures in directed networks.

Keywords
  • Community structure
  • Directed graphs
  • Modularity
  • Spectral clustering
Citation (ISO format)
CIONCA, Alexandre, CHAN, Chun Hei Michael, VAN DE VILLE, Dimitri. Community detection for directed networks revisited using bimodularity. In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2025, vol. 122, n° 35, p. e2500571122. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2500571122
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Identifiers
Additional URL for this publicationhttps://pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2500571122
Journal ISSN0027-8424
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Creation10/10/2025 08:08:05
First validation24/11/2025 10:28:51
Update24/11/2025 10:28:51
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