Betweenness Preference: Quantifying Correlations in the Topological Dynamics of Temporal Networks

We study correlations in temporal networks and introduce the notion of betweenness preference. It allows to quantify to what extent paths, existing in time-aggregated representations of temporal networks, are actually realizable based on the sequence of interactions. We show that betweenness preference is present in empirical temporal network data and that it influences the length of shortest time-respecting paths. Using four different data sets, we further argue that neglecting betweenness preference leads to wrong conclusions about dynamical processes on temporal networks.

💡 Research Summary

The paper addresses a fundamental limitation in the study of temporal networks: the common practice of collapsing time‑varying interactions into a static, time‑aggregated graph discards the order in which contacts occur. To capture how this ordering constrains the realizability of paths, the authors introduce the concept of betweenness preference. For a given node i, betweenness preference quantifies the tendency of i to act as a temporal bridge between two specific neighbors j and k, i.e., the probability that a contact (j → i) is followed by a contact (i → k) in the observed sequence. Formally, they count the number of observed two‑step “triangles” (j→i→k) and normalize by the total number of possible (j,k) pairs, yielding a matrix P_i whose entries lie in