Topological Classification in a Wasserstein Distance Based Vector Space
This provides a computationally tractable method for topological classification of networks, which is incremental as it builds on existing persistent homology and optimal transport theory.
The paper tackles the computational difficulty of extracting topological features from large, dense networks by introducing a vector representation based on the Wasserstein distance between persistence barcodes, and demonstrates its effectiveness with support vector machines achieving classification on simulated and functional brain networks.
Classification of large and dense networks based on topology is very difficult due to the computational challenges of extracting meaningful topological features from real-world networks. In this paper we present a computationally tractable approach to topological classification of networks by using principled theory from persistent homology and optimal transport to define a novel vector representation for topological features. The proposed vector space is based on the Wasserstein distance between persistence barcodes. The 1-skeleton of the network graph is employed to obtain 1-dimensional persistence barcodes that represent connected components and cycles. These barcodes and the corresponding Wasserstein distance can be computed very efficiently. The effectiveness of the proposed vector space is demonstrated using support vector machines to classify simulated networks and measured functional brain networks.