Interrelations among scientific fields and their relative influences revealed by an input–output analysis

In this paper, we try to answer two questions about any given scientific discipline: first, how important is each subfield and second, how does a specific subfield influence other subfields? We modify the well-known open-system Leontief Input–Output Analysis in economics into a closed-system analysis focusing on eigenvalues and eigenvectors and the effects of removing one subfield. We apply this method to the subfields of physics. This analysis...