A network is a mathematical object consisting of a set of pointsnbsp;that are connected to each other in somenbsp;fashion by lines. It turns out thisnbsp;simple descriptionnbsp;corresponds to a bewildering array of systems in the real world,nbsp;ranging from technological ones such as the Internet and Worldnbsp;Wide Web, biological networks such as that of connections of thenbsp;nervous systems, food webs ornbsp; protein interactions,nbsp;infrastructural systems such as networks of roads, airports or the power-grid,nbsp;to patterns of social and professional relationships such as friendship, sex partners, network ofnbsp;Hollywood actors, co-authorship networks and many more.

Recent years have witnessed a substantial amount of interest within thenbsp;scientific community in the properties of these networks. The emergencenbsp;of the internet in particular, coupled with the widespread availability ofnbsp;inexpensive computing resources has facilitated studies ranging fromnbsp;large scale empirical analysis of networks in the real world, to the developmentnbsp;of theoretical models and tools to explore the various properties of these systems.nbsp;The study of networks is broadly interdisciplinary and central developments havenbsp;occurred in many fields, including mathematics, physics, computer and informationnbsp;sciences, biology and the social sciences.

This book brings together a collectionnbsp;of cutting-edge research in the field from anbsp;diversenbsp;array of researchers ranging fromnbsp;physicists to social scientists and presents them in anbsp;coherent fashion, highlighting thenbsp;strong interconnections between the different areas. Topicsnbsp;included are social networks and social media, opinion and innovation diffusion,nbsp;biological and health-related networks, language networks, as well as network theory, community detection,nbsp;or growth models for Complex Networks.