Spectral density-based clustering algorithms for complex networks

Introduction Clustering is usually the first exploratory analysis step in empirical data. When the data set comprises graphs, the most common approaches focus on clustering its vertices. In this work, we are interested in grouping networks with similar connectivity structures together instead of grouping vertices of the graph. We could apply this approach to functional brain networks (FBNs) for identifying subgroups of people presenting similar functional connectivity, such as studying a mental disorder. The main problem is that real-world networks present natural fluctuations, which we should consider. Methods In this context, spectral density is an exciting feature because graphs generated by different models present distinct spectral densities, thus presenting different connectivity structures. We introduce two clustering methods: k-means for graphs of the same size and gCEM, a model-based approach for graphs of different sizes. We evaluated their performance in toy models. Finally, we applied them to FBNs of monkeys under anesthesia and a dataset of chemical compounds. Results We show that our methods work well in both toy models and real-world data. They present good results for clustering graphs presenting different connectivity structures even when they present the same number of edges, vertices, and degree of centrality. Discussion We recommend using k-means-based clustering for graphs when graphs present the same number of vertices and the gCEM method when graphs present a different number of vertices.