Heat Kernel of Networks with Long-Range Interactions

The heat kernel associated with a discrete graph Laplacian is the basic solution to the heat diffusion equation of a strict graph or network. In addition, this kernel represents the heat transfer that occurs over time across the network edges. Its computation involves exponentiating the Laplacian eigensystem with respect to time. In this paper, we expand upon this concept by considering a novel network-theoretic approach developed in recent years, which involves defining the k-path Laplacian operator for networks. Prior studies have adopted the notion of integrating long-range interactions (LRI) in the transmission of “information” across the nodes and edges of the network. Various methods have been employed to consider long-range interactions. We explore here the incorporation of long-range interactions in network analysis through the use of Mellin and Laplace transforms applied to the k-path Laplacian matrix. The contribution of this paper is the computation of the heat kernel associated with the k-path Laplacian, called the generalized heat kernel (GHK), and its employment as the basis for extracting stable and useful novel versions of invariants for graph characterization. The results presented in this paper demonstrate that the use of LRI improves the results obtained with classical diffusion methods for networks characterization.