Eur. Phys. J. B 56, 41-45 (2007)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2007-00088-4

Limited resolution in complex network community detection with Potts model approach

¹ Laboratory of Computational Engineering, Helsinki University of Technology, P.O. Box 9203, 02015 HUT, Finland
² Department of Theoretical Physics, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary

Corresponding author: ^a jkumpula@lce.hut.fi

Received: 16 October 2006
Revised: 12 February 2007
Published online: 28 March 2007

Abstract

According to Fortunato and Barthélemy, modularity-based community detection algorithms have a resolution threshold such that small communities in a large network are invisible. Here we generalize their work and show that the q-state Potts community detection method introduced by Reichardt and Bornholdt also has a resolution threshold. The model contains a parameter by which this threshold can be tuned, but no a priori principle is known to select the proper value. Single global optimization criteria do not seem capable for detecting all communities if their size distribution is broad.