Universal Components of Real-world Diffusion Dynamics based on Point Processes

Bursts in human and natural activities are highly clustered in time, suggesting that these activities are influenced by previous events within the social or natural system. Bursty behavior in the real world conveys information of underlying diffusion processes, which have been the focus of diverse scientific communities from online social media to criminology and epidemiology. However, universal components of real-world diffusion dynamics that cut across disciplines remain unexplored. Here, we introduce a wide range of diffusion processes across disciplines and propose universal components of diffusion frameworks. We apply these components to diffusion-based studies of human disease spread, through a case study of the vector-borne disease dengue. The proposed universality of diffusion can motivate transdisciplinary research and provide a fundamental framework for diffusion models.