2012/06/30 by Raj Kumar Pan, Sitabhra Sinha, Kimmo Kaski +1 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · Computer Science · #physics.soc-ph #cs.SI #physics.data-an
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/srep00551
published as Scientific Reports 2, 551 (2012) · Published version, 10 pages, 8 figures + Supplementary Information
arxiv created 2012/08/16 · arxiv updated 2012/08/17
Science, being a social enterprise, is subject to fragmentation into groups that focus on specialized areas or topics. Often new advances occur through cross-fertilization of ideas between sub-fields that otherwise have little overlap as they study dissimilar phenomena using different techniques. Thus to explore the nature and dynamics of scientific progress one needs to consider the large-scale organization and interactions between different subject areas. Here, we study the relationships between the sub-fields of Physics using the Physics and Astronomy Classification Scheme (PACS) codes employed for self-categorization of articles published over the past 25 years (1985-2009). We observe a clear trend towards increasing interactions between the different sub-fields. The network of sub-fields also exhibits core-periphery organization, the nucleus being dominated by Condensed Matter and General Physics. However, over time Interdisciplinary Physics is steadily increasing its share in the network core, reflecting a shift in the overall trend of Physics research.