Effects of Backtracking on PageRank
Social and Information Networks
2026-02-11 v2 Combinatorics
Abstract
In this paper, we consider three variations on standard PageRank: Non-backtracking PageRank, -PageRank, and -PageRank, all of which alter the standard formula by adjusting the likelihood of backtracking in the algorithm's random walk. We show that in the case of regular and bipartite biregular graphs, standard PageRank and its variants are equivalent. We also compare each centrality measure and investigate their clustering capabilities.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2211.13353,
title = {Effects of Backtracking on PageRank},
author = {Cory Glover and Tyler Jones and Mark Kempton and Alice Oveson},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2211.13353},
year = {2026}
}