From small steps to great leaps, metaphors of spatial mobility abound to describe discovery processes. Here, we ground these ideas in formal terms by systematically studying scientific knowledge mobility patterns. We use low-dimensional embedding techniques to create a knowledge space made up of 1.5 million articles from the fields of physics, computer science, and mathematics. By analyzing the publication histories of individual researchers, we discover patterns of knowledge mobility that closely resemble physical mobility. In aggregate, the trajectories form mobility flows that can be described by a gravity model, with jumps more likely to occur in areas of high density and less likely to occur over longer distances. We identify two types of researchers from their individual mobility patterns: interdisciplinary explorers who pioneer new fields, and exploiters who are more likely to stay within their specific areas of expertise. Our results suggest that spatial mobility analysis is a valuable tool for understanding knowledge evolution.

翻译：从小步到大飞跃,空间流动性的隐喻,从小步到大飞跃,都用来描述发现过程。在这里,我们通过系统研究科学知识流动性模式,将这些想法以正式的术语作为基础。我们使用低维嵌入技术来创造一个由物理、计算机科学和数学领域150万篇文章组成的知识空间。通过分析个体研究人员的出版历史,我们发现了与物理流动性非常相似的知识流动性模式。总体来说,轨迹形成流动性流,可以用重力模型来描述,在高密度和较不易发生长距离的地区内,跳动的可能性更大。我们从个体流动性模式中确定了两类研究人员:开创新领域的跨学科探索者,以及更有可能留在其特定专长领域的开发者。我们的结果表明,空间流动性分析是了解知识演变的宝贵工具。</s>