Enhance the Transfer Capacity of Multiplex Networks

Most complex real systems are found to have multiple layers of connectivity and required to be modelled as multiplex networks. One of the extremely critical problems is to reduce the congestion and enhance the transfer capacity, especially in real communication networks with a big data environment. A novel and effective strategy to improve traffic and control congestion is proposed by adding edges according to their weights which are defined by the topology structural properties. Furthermore, which layer is more effective when our strategy is applied is discussed based on its topology structure. Adding edges between nodes whose product of multiplex network betweenness is the highest is confirmed to be more effective, particularly in the layer with stronger community structure. Simulation experiments on both computer-generated and real-world networks demonstrate that our strategy can enhance the transfer capacity of multiplex networks significantly, which is in good agreement with our analysis.