Identifying Influential Spreaders in Social Networks through Discrete Moth-Flame Optimization

Influence maximization in a social network refers to the selection of node sets that support the fastest and broadest propagation of information under a chosen transmission model. The efficient identification of such influence-maximizing groups is an active area of research with diverse practical relevance. Greedy-based methods can provide solutions of reliable accuracy, but the computational cost of the required Monte Carlo simulations renders them infeasible for large networks. Meanwhile, although network structure-based centrality methods can be efficient, they typically achieve poor recognition accuracy. Here we establish an effective influence assessment model based both on the total valuation and variance in valuation of neighbor nodes, motivated by the possibility of unreliable communication channels. We then develop a discrete moth-flame optimization method to search for influence-maximizing node sets, using local crossover and mutation evolution scheme atop the canonical moth position updates. To accelerate convergence, a search area selection scheme derived from a degree-based heuristic is used. Experimental results on five real-world social networks, comparing our proposed method against several alternatives in current literature, indicates our approach to be effective and robust in tackling the influence maximization problem.