Cooperation, Conflict and Higher-Order Structures of Social Networks

Abstract

Simplicial complexes represent powerful models of complex networks and complex systems in general. We explore the properties of spectra of combinatorial Laplacian operator of simplicial complexes in the context of connectivity of cliques in the simplicial clique complex associated with social networks. The necessity of higher order spectral analysis is discussed and compared with results for ordinary graph spectra. Methods and results are applied using social network of the Zachary karate club and the network of characters from Victor Hugos novel Les Miserables.