Epidemic processes in complex networks

This review synthesizes the vast research activity concerning epidemic processes in complex networks, motivated by overwhelming evidence for complex and heterogeneous connectivity patterns across biological and sociotechnical systems. Because these complex network properties profoundly affect equilibrium and nonequilibrium phenomena, the study of epidemic spreading is central to understanding how dynamical processes unfold in networks. Analyzing epidemic spreading in heterogeneous networks required the development of novel analytical frameworks, which produced results of both conceptual and practical relevance, and the review details these successful theoretical approaches while making their limits and assumptions clear.

The authors note that physicists, mathematicians, epidemiologists, and computer and social scientists share a common interest in epidemic spreading and rely on similar models to describe the diffusion of pathogens, knowledge, and innovation. Accordingly, while focusing on the main results and paradigmatic models in infectious disease modeling, the review also presents major results on generalized social contagion processes. Finally, it reports frontier research on epidemic spreading in coevolving, coupled, and time-varying networks, providing a coherent and comprehensive reference for the field.