@misc{DjurdjevacConradBanischSchuette2014, author = {Djurdjevac Conrad, Natasa and Banisch, Ralf and Sch{\"u}tte, Christof}, title = {Modularity of Directed Networks: Cycle Decomposition Approach}, issn = {1438-0064}, doi = {10.3934/jcd.2015.2.1}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-51166}, year = {2014}, abstract = {The problem of decomposing networks into modules (or clusters) has gained much attention in recent years, as it can account for a coarsegrained description of complex systems, often revealing functional subunits of these systems. A variety of module detection algorithms have been proposed, mostly oriented towards finding hard partitionings of undirected networks. Despite the increasing number of fuzzy clustering methods for directed networks, many of these approaches tend to neglect important directional information. In this paper, we present a novel random walk based approach for finding fuzzy partitions of directed, weighted networks, where edge directions play a crucial role in defining how well nodes in a module are interconnected. We will show that cycle decomposition of a random walk process connects the notion of network modules and information transport in a network, leading to a new, symmetric measure of node communication. Finally, we will use this measure to introduce a communication graph, for which we will show that although being undirected it inherits all necessary information about modular structures from the original network.}, language = {en} } @article{DjurdjevacConradBanischSchuette2015, author = {Djurdjevac Conrad, Natasa and Banisch, Ralf and Sch{\"u}tte, Christof}, title = {Modularity of Directed Networks: Cycle Decomposition Approach}, journal = {Journal of Computational Dynamics 2 (2015) pp. 1-24}, doi = {10.3934/jcd.2015.2.1}, year = {2015}, abstract = {The problem of decomposing networks into modules (or clusters) has gained much attention in recent years, as it can account for a coarsegrained description of complex systems, often revealing functional subunits of these systems. A variety of module detection algorithms have been proposed, mostly oriented towards finding hard partitionings of undirected networks. Despite the increasing number of fuzzy clustering methods for directed networks, many of these approaches tend to neglect important directional information. In this paper, we present a novel random walk based approach for finding fuzzy partitions of directed, weighted networks, where edge directions play a crucial role in defining how well nodes in a module are interconnected. We will show that cycle decomposition of a random walk process connects the notion of network modules and information transport in a network, leading to a new, symmetric measure of node communication. Finally, we will use this measure to introduce a communication graph, for which we will show that although being undirected it inherits all necessary information about modular structures from the original network.}, language = {en} } @article{DjurdjevacConradWeberSchuette2016, author = {Djurdjevac Conrad, Natasa and Weber, Marcus and Sch{\"u}tte, Christof}, title = {Finding dominant structures of nonreversible Markov processes}, volume = {14}, journal = {Multiscale Modeling and Simulation}, number = {4}, doi = {10.1137/15M1032272}, pages = {1319 -- 1340}, year = {2016}, language = {en} } @article{BanischDjurdjevacConrad2014, author = {Banisch, Ralf and Djurdjevac Conrad, Natasa}, title = {Cycle-flow-based module detection in directed recurrence networks}, volume = {108}, journal = {EPL (Europhysics Letters)}, number = {6}, doi = {10.1209/0295-5075/108/68008}, year = {2014}, language = {en} } @article{LorenzWolfBraunetal.2017, author = {Lorenz, Philipp and Wolf, Frederik and Braun, Jonas and Djurdjevac Conrad, Natasa and H{\"o}vel, Philipp}, title = {Capturing the Dynamics of Hashtag-Communities}, journal = {International Workshop on Complex Networks and their Applications}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-72150-7_33}, pages = {401 -- 413}, year = {2017}, language = {en} } @misc{ZonkerPadillaIglesiasDjurdjevacConrad2023, author = {Zonker, Johannes and Padilla-Iglesias, Cecilia and Djurdjevac Conrad, Natasa}, title = {Supplementary code and data for Royal Society Open Science Manuscript rsos.230495}, doi = {10.12752/9254}, year = {2023}, abstract = {In this repository are all files necessary to run the agent-based model of the paper "Insights into drivers of mobility and cultural dynamics of African hunter-gatherers over the past 120 000 years", Royal Society Open Science, 10(11), 2023.}, language = {en} } @misc{HelfmannDjurdjevacConradLorenzSpreenetal.2023, author = {Helfmann, Luzie and Djurdjevac Conrad, Natasa and Lorenz-Spreen, Philipp and Sch{\"u}tte, Christof}, title = {Supplementary code for the paper Modelling opinion dynamics under the impact of influencer and media strategies}, doi = {10.12752/9267}, year = {2023}, abstract = {This repository contains the Julia code accompanying the paper "Modelling opinion dynamics under the impact of influencer and media strategies", Scientific Reports, Vol.13, p. 19375, 2023.}, language = {en} } @article{TrowerDjurdjevacConradKlus2025, author = {Trower, Maia and Djurdjevac Conrad, Natasa and Klus, Stefan}, title = {Clustering Time-Evolving Networks Using the Spatiotemporal Graph Laplacian}, volume = {35}, journal = {Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science}, arxiv = {http://arxiv.org/abs/2407.12864}, doi = {10.1063/5.0228419}, pages = {013126}, year = {2025}, abstract = {Time-evolving graphs arise frequently when modeling complex dynamical systems such as social networks, traffic flow, and biological processes. Developing techniques to identify and analyze communities in these time-varying graph structures is an important challenge. In this work, we generalize existing spectral clustering algorithms from static to dynamic graphs using canonical correlation analysis (CCA) to capture the temporal evolution of clusters. Based on this extended canonical correlation framework, we define the spatio-temporal graph Laplacian and investigate its spectral properties. We connect these concepts to dynamical systems theory via transfer operators, and illustrate the advantages of our method on benchmark graphs by comparison with existing methods. We show that the spatio-temporal graph Laplacian allows for a clear interpretation of cluster structure evolution over time for directed and undirected graphs.}, language = {en} } @article{KlusDjurdjevacConrad2024, author = {Klus, Stefan and Djurdjevac Conrad, Natasa}, title = {Dynamical systems and complex networks: A Koopman operator perspective}, volume = {5}, journal = {Journal of Physics: Complexity}, number = {4}, publisher = {IOP Publishing}, arxiv = {http://arxiv.org/abs/2405.08940}, doi = {10.1088/2632-072X/ad9e60}, pages = {041001}, year = {2024}, abstract = {The Koopman operator has entered and transformed many research areas over the last years. Although the underlying concept-representing highly nonlinear dynamical systems by infinite-dimensional linear operators-has been known for a long time, the availability of large data sets and efficient machine learning algorithms for estimating the Koopman operator from data make this framework extremely powerful and popular. Koopman operator theory allows us to gain insights into the characteristic global properties of a system without requiring detailed mathematical models. We will show how these methods can also be used to analyze complex networks and highlight relationships between Koopman operators and graph Laplacians.}, language = {en} } @article{DjurdjevacConradQuangVuNagel2024, author = {Djurdjevac Conrad, Natasa and Quang Vu, Nhu and Nagel, Soeren}, title = {Co-evolving networks for opinion and social dynamics in agent-based models}, volume = {34}, journal = {Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science}, number = {9}, issn = {1054-1500}, arxiv = {http://arxiv.org/abs/2407.00145}, doi = {10.1063/5.0226054}, year = {2024}, abstract = {The rise of digital social media has strengthened the coevolution of public opinions and social interactions, that shape social structures and collective outcomes in increasingly complex ways. Existing literature often explores this interplay as a one-directional influence, focusing on how opinions determine social ties within adaptive networks. However, this perspective overlooks the intrinsic dynamics driving social interactions, which can significantly influence how opinions form and evolve. In this work, we address this gap, by introducing the co-evolving opinion and social dynamics using stochastic agent-based models. Agents' mobility in a social space is governed by both their social and opinion similarity with others. Similarly, the dynamics of opinion formation is driven by the opinions of agents in their social vicinity. We analyze the underlying social and opinion interaction networks and explore the mechanisms influencing the appearance of emerging phenomena, like echo chambers and opinion consensus. To illustrate the model's potential for real-world analysis, we apply it to General Social Survey data on political identity and public opinion regarding governmental issues. Our findings highlight the model's strength in capturing the coevolution of social connections and individual opinions over time.}, language = {en} } @article{DjurdjevacConradTonelloZonkeretal.2025, author = {Djurdjevac Conrad, Natasa and Tonello, Elisa and Zonker, Johannes and Siebert, Heike}, title = {Detection of dynamic communities in temporal networks with sparse data}, volume = {10}, journal = {Applied Network Science}, publisher = {Springer International Publishing}, doi = {10.1007/s41109-024-00687-3}, year = {2025}, abstract = {Temporal networks are a powerful tool for studying the dynamic nature of a wide range of real-world complex systems, including social, biological and physical systems. In particular, detection of dynamic communities within these networks can help identify important cohesive structures and fundamental mechanisms driving systems behaviour. However, when working with real-world systems, available data is often limited and sparse, due to missing data on systems entities, their evolution and interactions, as well as uncertainty regarding temporal resolution. This can hinder accurate representation of the system over time and result in incomplete or biased community dynamics. In this paper, we compare established methods for community detection and, using synthetic data experiments and real-world case studies, we evaluate the impact of data sparsity on the quality of identified dynamic communities. Our results give valuable insights on the evolution of systems with sparse data, which are less studied in existing literature, but are frequently encountered in real-world applications.}, language = {en} } @article{KostreDjurdjevacConradSchuetteetal.2024, author = {Kostr{\´e}, Margarita and Djurdjevac Conrad, Natasa and Sch{\"u}tte, Christof and Sunkara, Vikram}, title = {Exploration of Particle Swarm Optimisation Algorithm with Divergent Parameters}, journal = {Natural Computing}, year = {2024}, language = {en} } @article{ZimperCornalbaDjurdjevacConradetal.2025, author = {Zimper, Sebastian and Cornalba, Federico and Djurdjevac Conrad, Natasa and Djurdjevac, Ana}, title = {On reduced inertial PDE models for Cucker-Smale flocking dynamics}, volume = {481}, journal = {Proceedings of the Royal Society A}, publisher = {Royal Society}, arxiv = {http://arxiv.org/abs/2407.18717}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.2024.0675}, year = {2025}, abstract = {In particle systems, flocking refers to the phenomenon where particles' individual velocities eventually align. The Cucker-Smale model is a well-known mathematical framework that describes this behaviour. Many continuous descriptions of the Cucker-Smale model use PDEs with both particle position and velocity as independent variables, thus providing a full description of the particles mean-field limit (MFL) dynamics. In this paper, we introduce a novel reduced inertial PDE model consisting of two equations that depend solely on particle position. In contrast to other reduced models, ours is not derived from the MFL, but directly includes the model reduction at the level of the empirical densities, thus allowing for a straightforward connection to the underlying particle dynamics. We present a thorough analytical investigation of our reduced model, showing that: firstly, our reduced PDE satisfies a natural and interpretable continuous definition of flocking; secondly, in specific cases, we can fully quantify the discrepancy between PDE solution and particle system. Our theoretical results are supported by numerical simulations.}, language = {en} } @article{BlaskovicConradKlusetal.2025, author = {Blaskovic, Filip and Conrad, Tim and Klus, Stefan and Djurdjevac Conrad, Natasa}, title = {Random walk based snapshot clustering for detecting community dynamics in temporal networks}, volume = {15}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, arxiv = {http://arxiv.org/abs/2412.12187}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-025-09340-0}, pages = {24414}, year = {2025}, abstract = {The evolution of many dynamical systems that describe relationships or interactions between objects can be effectively modeled by temporal networks, which are typically represented as a sequence of static network snapshots. In this paper, we introduce a novel random walk based approach that can identify clusters of time-snapshots in which network community structures are stable. This allows to detect significant structural shifts over time, such as the splitting, merging, birth, or death of communities. We also provide a low-dimensional representation of entire snapshots, placing those with similar community structure close to each other in the feature space. To validate our approach, we develop an agent-based algorithm that generates synthetic datasets with the desired characteristic properties, enabling thorough testing and benchmarking. We further demonstrate the effectiveness and broad applicability of our technique by testing it on various social dynamics models and real-world datasets and comparing its performance to several state-of-the-art algorithms. Our findings highlight the strength of our approach to correctly capture and analyze the dynamics of complex systems.}, language = {en} } @article{NiemannKlusConradetal.2024, author = {Niemann, Jan-Hendrik and Klus, Stefan and Conrad, Natasa Djurdjevac and Sch{\"u}tte, Christof}, title = {Koopman-Based Surrogate Models for Multi-Objective Optimization of Agent-Based Systems}, volume = {460}, journal = {Physica D: Nonlinear Phenomena}, arxiv = {http://arxiv.org/abs/2306.17666}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physd.2024.134052}, pages = {134052}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Agent-based models (ABMs) provide an intuitive and powerful framework for studying social dynamics by modeling the interactions of individuals from the perspective of each individual. In addition to simulating and forecasting the dynamics of ABMs, the demand to solve optimization problems to support, for example, decision-making processes naturally arises. Most ABMs, however, are non-deterministic, high-dimensional dynamical systems, so objectives defined in terms of their behavior are computationally expensive. In particular, if the number of agents is large, evaluating the objective functions often becomes prohibitively time-consuming. We consider data-driven reduced models based on the Koopman generator to enable the efficient solution of multi-objective optimization problems involving ABMs. In a first step, we show how to obtain data-driven reduced models of non-deterministic dynamical systems (such as ABMs) that depend on potentially nonlinear control inputs. We then use them in the second step as surrogate models to solve multi-objective optimal control problems. We first illustrate our approach using the example of a voter model, where we compute optimal controls to steer the agents to a predetermined majority, and then using the example of an epidemic ABM, where we compute optimal containment strategies in a prototypical situation. We demonstrate that the surrogate models effectively approximate the Pareto-optimal points of the ABM dynamics by comparing the surrogate-based results with test points, where the objectives are evaluated using the ABM. Our results show that when objectives are defined by the dynamic behavior of ABMs, data-driven surrogate models support or even enable the solution of multi-objective optimization problems.}, language = {en} } @article{ZonkerPadillaIglesiasDjurdjevacConrad2023, author = {Zonker, Johannes and Padilla-Iglesias, Cecilia and Djurdjevac Conrad, Natasa}, title = {Insights into drivers of mobility and cultural dynamics of African hunter-gatherers over the past 120 000 years}, volume = {10}, journal = {Royal Society Open Science}, number = {11}, doi = {10.1098/rsos.230495}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Humans have a unique capacity to innovate, transmit and rely on complex, cumulative culture for survival. While an important body of work has attempted to explore the role of changes in the size and interconnectedness of populations in determining the persistence, diversity and complexity of material culture, results have achieved limited success in explaining the emergence and spatial distribution of cumulative culture over our evolutionary trajectory. Here, we develop a spatio-temporally explicit agent-based model to explore the role of environmentally driven changes in the population dynamics of hunter-gatherer communities in allowing the development, transmission and accumulation of complex culture. By modelling separately demography- and mobility-driven changes in interaction networks, we can assess the extent to which cultural change is driven by different types of population dynamics. We create and validate our model using empirical data from Central Africa spanning 120 000 years. We find that populations would have been able to maintain diverse and elaborate cultural repertoires despite abrupt environmental changes and demographic collapses by preventing isolation through mobility. However, we also reveal that the function of cultural features was also an essential determinant of the effects of environmental or demographic changes on their dynamics. Our work can therefore offer important insights into the role of a foraging lifestyle on the evolution of cumulative culture.}, language = {en} } @article{DjurdjevacConradChemnitzKostreetal.2024, author = {Djurdjevac Conrad, Natasa and Chemnitz, Robin and Kostre, Margarita and Schweigart, Fleur and Fless, Friederike and Sch{\"u}tte, Christof and Ducke, Benjamin}, title = {A Mathematical perspective on Romanisation: Modelling the Roman road activation process in ancient Tunisia}, volume = {19}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, number = {9}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0309752}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Romanisation is a multi-faceted historical phenomenon with profound and lasting cultural impact on the ancient world. In the modern-day territory of Tunisia, this is particularly manifest during the first four centuries AD, under the reign of the Roman Empire. We derive a reduced, operational concept of Romanisation as a cultural diffusion process that is observable in the archaeological remains of the Roman era settlement system. We then introduce a novel mathematical model that computes spatio-temporal approximations for the Romanisation of the settlement system. The model is based on the concept of temporal road activation and makes minimal assumptions regarding input data quality. The results of our study contribute to the understanding of the time dynamics of the region's road network, under the influence of Romanisation. Our model can be applied in similar archaeological research scenarios, to generate spatio-temporal backbones for the analysis of otherwise intractably complex social processes.}, language = {en} } @article{WinkelmannZonkerSchuetteetal.2021, author = {Winkelmann, Stefanie and Zonker, Johannes and Sch{\"u}tte, Christof and Djurdjevac Conrad, Natasa}, title = {Mathematical modeling of spatio-temporal population dynamics and application to epidemic spreading}, volume = {336}, journal = {Mathematical Biosciences}, publisher = {Elsevier}, arxiv = {http://arxiv.org/abs/2205.05000}, doi = {10.1016/j.mbs.2021.108619}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Agent based models (ABMs) are a useful tool for modeling spatio-temporal population dynamics, where many details can be included in the model description. Their computational cost though is very high and for stochastic ABMs a lot of individual simulations are required to sample quantities of interest. Especially, large numbers of agents render the sampling infeasible. Model reduction to a metapopulation model leads to a significant gain in computational efficiency, while preserving important dynamical properties. Based on a precise mathematical description of spatio-temporal ABMs, we present two different metapopulation approaches (stochastic and piecewise deterministic) and discuss the approximation steps between the different models within this framework. Especially, we show how the stochastic metapopulation model results from a Galerkin projection of the underlying ABM onto a finite-dimensional ansatz space. Finally, we utilize our modeling framework to provide a conceptual model for the spreading of COVID-19 that can be scaled to real-world scenarios.}, language = {en} } @article{HelfmannConradLorenzSpreenetal.2023, author = {Helfmann, Luzie and Conrad, Natasa Djurdjevac and Lorenz-Spreen, Philipp and Sch{\"u}tte, Christof}, title = {Modelling opinion dynamics under the impact of influencer and media strategies}, volume = {13}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, arxiv = {http://arxiv.org/abs/2301.13661}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-023-46187-9}, pages = {19375}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Digital communication has made the public discourse considerably more complex, and new actors and strategies have emerged as a result of this seismic shift. Aside from the often-studied interactions among individuals during opinion formation, which have been facilitated on a large scale by social media platforms, the changing role of traditional media and the emerging role of "influencers" are not well understood, and the implications of their engagement strategies arising from the incentive structure of the attention economy even less so. Here we propose a novel opinion dynamics model that accounts for these different roles, namely that media and influencers change their own positions on slower time scales than individuals, while influencers dynamically gain and lose followers. Numerical simulations show the importance of their relative influence in creating qualitatively different opinion formation dynamics: with influencers, fragmented but short-lived clusters emerge, which are then counteracted by more stable media positions. Mean-field approximations by partial differential equations reproduce this dynamic. Based on the mean-field model, we study how strategies of influencers to gain more followers can influence the overall opinion distribution. We show that moving towards extreme positions can be a beneficial strategy for influencers to gain followers. Finally, we demonstrate that optimal control strategies allow other influencers or media to counteract such attempts and prevent further fragmentation of the opinion landscape. Our modelling framework contributes to better understanding the different roles and strategies in the increasingly complex information ecosystem and their impact on public opinion formation.}, language = {en} } @article{NiemannUramWolfetal.2024, author = {Niemann, Jan-Hendrik and Uram, Samuel and Wolf, Sarah and Conrad, Natasa Djurdjevac and Weiser, Martin}, title = {Multilevel Optimization for Policy Design with Agent-Based Epidemic Models}, volume = {77}, journal = {Computational Science}, arxiv = {http://arxiv.org/abs/2304.02281}, doi = {10.1016/j.jocs.2024.102242}, pages = {102242}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Epidemiological models can not only be used to forecast the course of a pandemic like COVID-19, but also to propose and design non-pharmaceutical interventions such as school and work closing. In general, the design of optimal policies leads to nonlinear optimization problems that can be solved by numerical algorithms. Epidemiological models come in different complexities, ranging from systems of simple ordinary differential equations (ODEs) to complex agent-based models (ABMs). The former allow a fast and straightforward optimization, but are limited in accuracy, detail, and parameterization, while the latter can resolve spreading processes in detail, but are extremely expensive to optimize. We consider policy optimization in a prototypical situation modeled as both ODE and ABM, review numerical optimization approaches, and propose a heterogeneous multilevel approach based on combining a fine-resolution ABM and a coarse ODE model. Numerical experiments, in particular with respect to convergence speed, are given for illustrative examples.}, language = {en} }