A simple multiforce layout for multiplex networks

Abstract: We introduce multiforce, a force-directed layout for multiplex networks, where the nodes of the network are organized into multiple layers and both in-layer and inter-layer relationships among nodes are used to compute node coordinates. The proposed approach generalizes existing work, providing a range of intermediate layouts in-between the ones produced by known methods. Our experiments on real data show that multiforce can keep nodes well aligned across different layers without significantly affecting their internal layouts when the layers have similar or compatible topologies. As a consequence, multiforce enriches the benefits of force-directed layouts by also supporting the identification of topological correspondences between layers.