  The breakthrough potentials of research papers can be explained by their
boundary-spanning qualities. Here, for the first time, we apply the structural
variation analysis (SVA) model and its affiliated metrics to investigate the
extent to which such qualities characterize a group of Nobel Prize winning
papers. We find that these papers share remarkable boundary-spanning traits,
marked by exceptional abilities to connect disparate and topically-diverse
clusters of research papers. Further, their publications exert structural
variations on the scale that significantly alters the betweenness centrality
distributions of existing intellectual space. Overall, SVA not only provides a
set of leading indicators for describing future Nobel Prize winning papers, but
also broadens our understanding of the similar prize-winning properties that
may have been overlooked among other regular publications.
