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：从微小步伐到巨大飞跃，空间移动的隐喻常被用于描述科学发现过程。本文通过系统研究科学知识移动模式，将这些概念落地为形式化术语。我们采用低维嵌入技术构建了一个由物理学、计算机科学和数学领域150万篇论文组成的知识空间。通过分析个体研究人员的发表历程，发现了与物理移动高度相似的知识移动模式。从整体轨迹来看，这些移动形成了可用引力模型描述的流动模式：跳跃更可能发生在高密度区域，而长距离跳跃的可能性较低。我们根据个体移动模式识别出两类研究人员：开拓新领域的跨学科探索者，以及更倾向于停留在特定专业领域的利用者。研究结果表明，空间移动分析是理解知识演化的有效工具。