Modeling Social Networks with Overlapping Communities Using Hypergraphs and Their Line Graphs

Abstract: We propose that hypergraphs can be used to model social networks with overlapping communities. The nodes of the hypergraphs represent the communities. The hyperlinks of the hypergraphs denote the individuals who may participate in multiple communities. The hypergraphs are not easy to analyze, however, the line graphs of hypergraphs are simple graphs or weighted graphs, so that the network theory can be applied. We define the overlapping depth $k$ of an individual by the number of communities that overlap in that individual, and we prove that the minimum adjacency eigenvalue of the corresponding line graph is not smaller than $-k_{max}$, which is the maximum overlapping depth of the whole network. Based on hypergraphs with preferential attachment, we establish a network model which incorporates overlapping communities with tunable overlapping parameters $k$ and $w$. By comparing with the Hyves social network, we show that our social network model possesses high clustering, assortative mixing, power-law degree distribution and short average path length.