EIGA: A Novel Genetic Algorithm Based on Edge Information for Community Detection in Weighted Social Networks

Community Detection (CD) in weighted social networks is a highly active research field, celebrated for its profound practical implications across a multitude of disciplines. Genetic algorithms (GAs) are frequently explored to tackle CD problems, leveraging their capability to navigate the extensive discrete search space effectively. Throughout the evolutionary process, genetic operators such as crossover and mutation assume pivotal roles in effectively exploring the vast solution space. Nonetheless, prevailing GA-based approaches often ignore crucial topology information, particularly information regarding edge weights, resulting in compromised algorithm performance. In light of this, this paper introduces Edge Information-based GA (EIGA) to effectively solve CD problems in weighted networks. This is achieved specifically through the innovative designs of edgeweight-aware crossover and mutation operators. These novel edge-weight-aware operators improve the extraction of meaningful community structures, advancing knowledge discovery from social networks. Empirical findings demonstrate the superior performance of EIGA over numerous state-of-the-art algorithms across various real-world and synthetic benchmark networks.