Dynamics over Signed Networks

A signed network is a network in which each link is associated with a positive or negative sign. Models for nodes interacting over such signed networks arise from various biological, social, political, and economic systems. As modifications to the conventional DeGroot dynamics for positive links, two basic types of negative interactions along negative links, namely, the opposing rule and the repelling rule, have been proposed and studied in the literature. This paper reviews a few fundamental convergence results for such dynamics over deterministic or random signed networks under a unified algebraic-graphical method. We show that a systematic tool for studying node state evolution over signed networks can be obtained utilizing generalized Perron-Frobenius theory, graph theory, and elementary algebraic recursions.