The interaction of information diffusion and epidemic transmission in time-varying multiplex networks with simplicial complexes and asymmetric activity levels

Abstract

Information diffusion among individuals occurs in various ways, mainly involving pairwise and higher-order interactions, and their coexistence can be characterized by simplicial complexes. This paper introduces a novel two-layer model that investigates coupled information-epidemic propagation. Specifically, the upper layer represents the virtual layer that depicts information diffusion, where the interaction process among individuals is not only limited to pairwise interactions but also influenced by higher-order interactions. The lower layer denotes the physical contact layer to portray epidemic transmission, where the interaction process among individuals is only considered in pairwise interactions. In particular, the emergence of asymmetric activity levels in two-layer networks reshapes the propagation mechanism. We then employ the micro-Marko chain approach (MMCA) to establish the probabilistic transfer equation for each state, deduce the epidemic outbreak threshold, and investigate the equilibrium and stability of the proposed model. Furthermore, we perform extensive Monte Carlo (MC) simulations to validate the theoretical predictions. The results demonstrate that the higher-order interaction generates synergistic reinforcement mechanisms that both facilitate information diffusion and inhibit epidemic transmission. Moreover, this study suggests that the activity level of individuals at the physical contact level has a greater impact on epidemic transmission. In addition, we utilize two different networks to explore the influence of network structural features on the transmission and scale of epidemics.