Eur. Phys. J. B 64, 349-353 (2008)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2008-00302-y

Reaction-diffusion processes and epidemic metapopulation models in complex networks

Complex Systems Group, School of Informatics, Indiana University, Bloomington IN 47406, USA and Complex Networks Lagrange Laboratory, Institute for Scientific Interchange (ISI), Torino, Italy and UMR du CNRS 8627, Université de Paris Sud, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France

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Received: 4 March 2008
Published online: 23 July 2008

Abstract

The correct description of reaction-diffusion phenomena requires a detailed knowledge of the contact networks defining the interactions between individuals and groups of individuals. For this reason, the study of reaction-diffusion processes has been recently widened with opportune models and methods dealing with the heterogeneity and large scale fluctuations observed in many real world networks. Here we present a brief overview of some recent results on reaction-diffusion processes in complex networks which provide useful insights into the dynamic behavior of epidemic metapopulation models.