Probing complex networks from measured time series

We propose a method to detect nodes of relative importance, e.g. hubs, in an unknown network based on a set of measured time series. The idea is to construct a matrix characterizing the synchronization probabilities between various pairs of time series and examine the components of the principal eigenvector. We provide a heuristic argument indicating the existence of an approximate one-to-one correspondence between the components and the degrees of the nodes from which measurements are obtained. The striking finding is that such a correspondence appears to be quite robust, which holds regardless of the detailed node dynamics and of the network topology. Our computationally efficient method thus provides a general means to address the important problem of network detection, with potential applications in a number of fields.