CC BY 4.0 UnportedTang, XiuchuanHuo, WeiYuan, YeLi, XiutingShi, LingKurths, Jürgen2021-11-292021-11-292020https://oa.tib.eu/renate/handle/123456789/7536https://doi.org/10.34657/6583Here we present a method to estimate the total number of nodes of a network using locally observed response dynamics. The algorithm has the following advantages: (a) it is data-driven. Therefore it does not require any prior knowledge about the model; (b) it does not need to collect measurements from multiple stimulus; and (c) it is distributed as it uses local information only, without any prior information about the global network. Even if only a single node is measured, the exact network size can be correctly estimated using a single trajectory. The proposed algorithm has been applied to both linear and nonlinear networks in simulation, illustrating the applicability to real-world physical networks. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd on behalf of the Institute of Physics and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.enghttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/530dynamical systemHankel matrixnetwork sizeArticle