dualnetwork

Dualnetwork is a term used in network science to describe systems that consist of two interdependent or coupled networks. In a dual-network model, two layers of connectivity exist, either sharing nodes or linked by interlayer connections, so that dynamics can occur within each layer and transfer across layers. The term overlaps with, but is not identical to, multiplex networks and interdependent networks, which address multiple layers and their couplings.

Modeling typically uses multilayer or two-layer network formalisms. Each layer has its own topology, while interlayer edges convey coupling between corresponding or related nodes. Analyses often focus on robustness, diffusion, synchronization, and cascading failures, using tools such as the supra-adjacency matrix, interlayer coupling strength, and cross-layer centrality measures.

Applications span critical infrastructure, transportation, social, and biological systems. For example, a dual-network model may pair a power grid layer with a communications layer to study how outages propagate; another instance combines road and rail networks for transportation resilience; in social science, digital and physical contact networks can form a dual-network to study information spread. In biology, dual-network concepts appear in signaling and metabolic pathways that interact.

Limitations include data requirements and model complexity; not all systems neatly split into two layers, and real couplings can be nonlinear or time-varying. Despite these caveats, dual-network models provide a framework for analyzing interdependence and cross-layer dynamics.

See also multiplex networks, interdependent networks, multilayer networks.