Dynamic Community Detection in Weighted Graph Streams

Jian-Huang Lai, Chang-Dong Wang, Philip S. Yu

Abstract: In this paper, we aim to tackle the problem of discovering dynamic communities in weighted graph streams, especially when the underlying social behavior of individuals varies considerably over different graph regions. To tackle this problem, a novel structure termed Local Weighted-Edge-based Pattern (LWEP) Summary is proposed to describe a local homogeneous region. To efficiently compute LWEPs, some statistics need to be maintained according to the principle of preserving maximum weighted neighbor information with limited memory storage. To this end, the proposed approach is divided into online and offline components. During the online phase, we introduce some statistics, termed top-k neighbor lists and top-k candidate lists, to track. The key is to maintain only the top-k neighbors with the largest link weights for each node. To allow for less active neighbors to transition into top-k neighbors, an auxiliary data structure termed top-k candidate list is used to identify emerging active neighbors. The statistics can be efficiently maintained in the online component. In the offline component, these statistics are used at each snapshot to efficiently compute LWEPs. Clustering is then performed to consolidate LWEPs into high level clusters. Finally, mapping is made between clusters of consecutive snapshots to generate temporally smooth communities. Experimental results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed approach.