Contagion Dynamics in Complex Networked Systems Seminar

Abstract
The study of complex networks sheds light on the relation between the structure and function of complex systems. In this seminar, we thoroughly discuss two paradigmatic examples of contagion dynamics that take place on complex architectures: the spreading of diseases and the so-called complex social contagion. For the first process, we revisit the main theoretical and computational results obtained in the last decade. Specifically, we discuss several relevant cases ranging from the spreading of single diseases in single-layer networks, to the competitive dynamics of multi-strain diseases on top of metapopulation systems. Secondly, we discuss a different class of theoretical and numerical approaches suited to describe the emergence of collective phenomena in large-scale social systems. In particular, we show how this diffusion dynamics introduces different analytical and numerical challenges whose solution leads to a better understanding of the mechanisms at the root of the phenomena being analyzed.