highbetweenness

Highbetweenness is a term used in network analysis to describe nodes that have a high centrality score based on the betweenness centrality measure. Betweenness centrality quantifies how often a node lies on the shortest path between two other nodes in a network. Nodes with high betweenness are therefore crucial for the flow of information or resources across the network.

These nodes act as bridges or intermediaries, connecting disparate parts of the network. If a node with high betweenness is removed, it can significantly disrupt or disconnect the network, potentially splitting it into smaller components or increasing the distances between other nodes. Identifying highbetweenness nodes is important for understanding network structure and for applications such as identifying influential individuals in social networks, critical infrastructure points, or potential bottlenecks in communication systems.

The calculation of betweenness centrality involves finding all shortest paths between all pairs of nodes and then counting how many of these paths pass through a particular node. While computationally intensive for very large networks, the insights gained into network connectivity and flow make it a valuable metric. Nodes with high betweenness are often considered "brokers" or "gatekeepers" within their respective networks.