Network analysis of cosmic structures: network centrality and topological environment

We apply simple analyses techniques developed for the study of complex networks to the study of the cosmic web, the large-scale galaxy distribution. In this paper, we measure three network centralities (ranks of topological importance): degree centrality (DC), closeness centrality (CL), and betweenness centrality (BC) from a network built from the Cosmological Evolution Survey (COSMOS) catalogue. We define eight galaxy populations according to the centrality measures: void, wall, and cluster by DC; main branch and dangling leaf by BC; and kernel, backbone, and fracture by CL. We also define three populations by Voronoi tessellation density to compare these with the DC selection. We apply the topological selections to galaxies in the (photometric) redshift range 0.91 < z < 0.94 from the COSMOS survey, and explore whether the red and blue galaxy populations show differences in colour, star formation rate, and stellar mass in the different topological regions. Despite the limitations and uncertainties associated with using photometric redshift and indirect measurements of galactic parameters, the preliminary results illustrate the potential of network analysis. Future surveys will provide better statistical samples to test and improve this ‘network cosmology’.