(p, n)-core: Core Decomposition in Signed Networks

Abstract

Finding cohesive subgraphs is a key and fundamental problem in network science. k-core is a widely used cohesive subgraph model having many applications. In this paper, we study core decomposition in the signed networks named (p,n)-core that combines k-core and signed edges. (p,n)-core preserves internal sufficient positive edges and deficient negative edges simultaneously to get high-quality cohesive subgraphs. We prove that finding exact (p,n)-core is NP-hard. Therefore, we propose two algorithms with pruning techniques. Finally, we demonstrate the superiority of our proposed algorithms using seven real-world networks. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.