Eur. Phys. J. B (2016) 89: 186
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2016-60845-8

Regular Article

Optimization of controllability and robustness of complex networks by edge directionality

¹ School of Mathematics and Statistics, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, P.R. China
² Computational Science Hubei Key Laboratory, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, P.R. China

^a e-mail: xfzou@whu.edu.cn

Received: 26 October 2015
Received in final form: 7 January 2016
Published online: 5 September 2016

Abstract

Recently, controllability of complex networks has attracted enormous attention in various fields of science and engineering. How to optimize structural controllability has also become a significant issue. Previous studies have shown that an appropriate directional assignment can improve structural controllability; however, the evolution of the structural controllability of complex networks under attacks and cascading has always been ignored. To address this problem, this study proposes a new edge orientation method (NEOM) based on residual degree that changes the link direction while conserving topology and directionality. By comparing the results with those of previous methods in two random graph models and several realistic networks, our proposed approach is demonstrated to be an effective and competitive method for improving the structural controllability of complex networks. Moreover, numerical simulations show that our method is near-optimal in optimizing structural controllability. Strikingly, compared to the original network, our method maintains the structural controllability of the network under attacks and cascading, indicating that the NEOM can also enhance the robustness of controllability of networks. These results alter the view of the nature of controllability in complex networks, change the understanding of structural controllability and affect the design of network models to control such networks.