ForceAtlas2, a Continuous Graph Layout Algorithm for Handy Network Visualization Designed for the Gephi Software

Gephi is a network visualization software used in various disciplines (social network analysis, biology, genomics...). One of its key features is the ability to display the spatialization process, aiming at transforming the network into a map, and ForceAtlas2 is its default layout algorithm. The latter is developed by the Gephi team as an all-around solution to Gephi users' typical networks (scale-free, 10 to 10,000 nodes). We present here for the first time its functioning and settings. ForceAtlas2 is a force-directed layout close to other algorithms used for network spatialization. We do not claim a theoretical advance but an attempt to integrate different techniques such as the Barnes Hut simulation,…