Response of scale-free networks with community structure to external stimuli

The response of scale-free networks with community structure to external stimuli is studied. By disturbing some nodes with different strategies, it is shown that the robustness of this kind of network can be enhanced due to the existence of communities in the networks. Some of the response patterns are found to coincide with topological communities. We show that such phenomena also occur in the cat brain network which is an example of a scale-free like network with community structure. Our results provide insights into the relationship between network topology and the functional organization in complex networks from another viewpoint.     

The physical position neighbourhood evolving network model

Many social, technological, biological and economical systems are properly described by evolved network models. In this paper, a new evolving network model with the concept of physical position neighbourhood connectivity is proposed and studied. This concept exists in many real complex networks such as communication networks. The simulation results for network parameters such as the first nonzero eigenvalue and maximal eigenvalue of the graph Laplacian, clustering coefficients, average distances and degree distributions for different evolving parameters of this model are presented. The dynamical behaviour of each node on the consensus problem is also studied. It is found that the degree distribution of this new model represents a transition between power-law and exponential scaling, while the Barábasi-Albert scale-free model is only one of its special (limiting) cases. It is also found that the time to reach a consensus becomes shorter sharply with increasing of neighbourhood scale of the nodes.     

Robustness analysis of network controllability

Structural controllability, which is an interesting property of complex networks, attracts many researchers from various fields. The maximum matching algorithm was recently applied to explore the minimum number of driver nodes, where control signals are injected, for controlling the whole network. Here we study the controllability of directed Erdös–Rényi and scale-free networks under attacks and cascading failures. Results show that degree-based attacks are more efficient than random attacks on network structural controllability. Cascade failures also do great harm to network controllability even if they are triggered by a local node failure.     

Scale-free network growth by ranking

Network growth is currently explained through mechanisms that rely on node prestige measures, such as degree or fitness. In many real networks, those who create and connect nodes do not know the prestige values of existing nodes but only their ranking by prestige. We propose a criterion of network growth that explicitly relies on the ranking of the nodes according to any prestige measure, be it topological or not. The resulting network has a scale-free degree distribution when the probability to link a target node is any power-law function of its rank, even when one has only partial information of node ranks. Our criterion may explain the frequency and robustness of scale-free degree distributions in real networks, as illustrated by the special case of the Web graph.     

Scaling of mean first-passage time as efficiency measure of nodes sending information on scale-free Koch networks

Random walks on complex networks, especially scale-free networks, have attracted considerable interest in the past few years. A lot of previous work showed that the average receiving time (ART), i.e., the average of mean first-passage time (MFPT) for random walks to a given hub node (node with maximum degree) averaged over all starting points in scale-free small-world networks exhibits a sublinear or linear dependence on network order N (number of nodes), which indicates that hub nodes are very efficient in receiving information if one looks upon the random walker as an information messenger. Thus far, the efficiency of a hub node sending information on scale-free small-world networks has not been addressed yet. In this paper, we study random walks on the class of Koch networks with scale-free behavior and small-world effect. We derive some basic properties for random walks on the Koch network family, based on which we calculate analytically the average sending time (AST) defined as the average of MFPTs from a hub node to all other nodes, excluding the hub itself. The obtained closed-form expression displays that in large networks the AST grows with network order as N ln N, which is larger than the linear scaling of ART to the hub from other nodes. On the other hand, we also address the case with the information sender distributed uniformly among the Koch networks, and derive analytically the global mean first-passage time, namely, the average of MFPTs between all couples of nodes, the leading scaling of which is identical to that of AST. From the obtained results, we present that although hub nodes are more efficient for receiving information than other nodes, they display a qualitatively similar speed for sending information as non-hub nodes. Moreover, we show that that AST from a starting point (sender) to all possible targets is not sensitively affected by the sender’s location. The present findings are helpful for better understanding random walks performed on scale-free small-world networks.     

Effect of node deleting on network structure

The ever-increasing knowledge of the structure of various real-world networks has uncovered their complex multi-mechanism-governed evolution processes. Therefore, a better understanding of the structure and evolution of these networked complex systems requires us to describe such processes in a more detailed and realistic manner. In this paper, we introduce a new type of network growth rule which comprises addition and deletion of nodes, and propose an evolving network model to investigate the effect of node deleting on network structure. It is found that, with the introduction of node deleting, network structure is significantly transformed. In particular, degree distribution of the network undergoes a transition from scale-free to exponential forms as the intensity of node deleting increases. At the same time, nontrivial disassortative degree correlation develops spontaneously as a natural result of network evolution in the model. We also demonstrate that node deleting introduced in the model does not destroy the connectedness of a growing network so long as the increasing rate of edges is not excessively small. In addition, it is found that node deleting will weaken but not eliminate the small-world effect of a growing network, and generally it will decrease the clustering coefficient in a network.     

Optimal routing strategy based on the minimum information path

In this paper, we propose a new routing strategy based on the minimum information path, named the optimal routing (OR) strategy, to improve the transportation capacity of scale-free networks. We define the average routing centrality degree of the node to analyze the traffic load on nodes of different degree. We analyze the transportation capacity by using the critical values of R_c, the average packet travel time, and the average path length. Both theoretical and experimental results show that the capacity of the network under our strategy will be maximized when the packet-delivery rate of the node is directly proportional to the degree.     

Hierarchical Characterization of Complex Networks

While the majority of approaches to the characterization of complex networks has relied on measurements considering only the immediate neighborhood of each network node, valuable information about the network topological properties can be obtained by considering further neighborhoods. The current work considers the concept of virtual hierarchies established around each node and the respectively defined hierarchical node degree and clustering coefficient (introduced in cond-mat/0408076), complemented by new hierarchical measurements, in order to obtain a powerful set of topological features of complex networks. The interpretation of such measurements is discussed, including an analytical study of the hierarchical node degree for random networks, and the potential of the suggested measurements for the characterization of complex networks is illustrated with respect to simulations of random, scale-free and regular network models as well as real data (airports, proteins and word associations). The enhanced characterization of the connectivity provided by the set of hierarchical measurements also allows the use of agglomerative clustering methods in order to obtain taxonomies of relationships between nodes in a network, a possibility which is also illustrated in the current article.     

Maximum entropy networks are more controllable than preferential attachment networks

A maximum entropy (ME) method to generate typical scale-free networks has been recently introduced. We investigate the controllability of ME networks and Barabási–Albert preferential attachment networks. Our experimental results show that ME networks are significantly more easily controlled than BA networks of the same size and the same degree distribution. Moreover, the control profiles are used to provide insight into control properties of both classes of network. We identify and classify the driver nodes and analyze the connectivity of their neighbors. We find that driver nodes in ME networks have fewer mutual neighbors and that their neighbors have lower average degree. We conclude that the properties of the neighbors of driver node sensitively affect the network controllability. Hence, subtle and important structural differences exist between BA networks and typical scale-free networks of the same degree distribution.     

Self-organized network design by link survivals and shortcuts

One of the challenges for future infrastructures is how to design a network with high efficiency and strong connectivity at low cost. We propose self-organized geographical networks beyond the vulnerable scale-free structure found in many real systems. The networks with spatially concentrated nodes emerge through link survival and path reinforcement on routing flows in a wireless environment with a constant transmission range of a node. In particular, we show that adding some shortcuts induces both the small-world effect and a significant improvement of the robustness to the same level as in the optimal bimodal networks. Such a simple universal mechanism will open prospective ways for several applications in wide-area ad hoc networks, smart grids, and urban planning.     

一种能耗均衡的无线传感器网络加权无标度拓扑研究

针对无线传感器网络节点能耗不均衡问题,通过对节点生命期建模,得出节点生命期受节点剩余能量和通信距离的影响,进而将两端节点生命期作为构建拓扑时边权重的影响因子,通过边权重控制节点权重,最终得出了一种能耗均衡的无线传感器网络加权无标度拓扑模型,并理论证明了该模型的点权、边权和节点度均服从幂律分布.实验结果表明,该模型具有无标度拓扑的强容错性,并有效的均衡了网络中的节点能耗,延长了网络的生命期.     

Detecting local community structures in complex networks based on local degree central nodes

Detecting local communities in real-world graphs such as large social networks, web graphs, and biological networks has received a great deal of attention because obtaining complete information from a large network is still difficult and unrealistic nowadays. In this paper, we define the term local degree central node whose degree is greater than or equal to the degree of its neighbor nodes. A new method based on the local degree central node to detect the local community is proposed. In our method, the local community is not discovered from the given starting node, but from the local degree central node that is associated with the given starting node. Experiments show that the local central nodes are key nodes of communities in complex networks and the local communities detected by our method have high accuracy. Our algorithm can discover local communities accurately for more nodes and is an effective method to explore community structures of large networks.     

Developmental time windows for spatial growth generate multiple-cluster small-world networks

Many networks extent in space, may it be metric (e.g. geographic) or non-metric (ordinal). Spatial network growth, which depends on the distance between nodes, can generate a wide range of topologies from small-world to linear scale-free networks. However, networks often lacked multiple clusters or communities. Multiple clusters can be generated, however, if there are time windows during development. Time windows ensure that regions of the network develop connections at different points in time. This novel approach could generate small-world but not scale-free networks. The resulting topology depended critically on the overlap of time windows as well as on the position of pioneer nodes.     

Epidemic spreading in a scale-free network of regular lattices

The susceptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) epidemics in a scale-free network in which each node is a square lattice itself is investigated through large-scale computer simulations. The model combines a local contact process among individuals in a node (or city) with stochastic long-range infections due to people traveling between cities interconnected by the national transportation scale-free network. A nonzero epidemic threshold is found and it is approached with a power-law behavior by the density of infected individuals, as observed in the small-world network of Watts and Strogatz. Also, the epidemic propagation follows a 1/f$1/f$, hierarchical dynamics from the highly connected square lattices to the smaller degree nodes in outbreaks with sizes distributed accordingly a Gaussian function.     

Extremum statistics in scale-free network models

We investigate the statistics of the most connected node in scale-free networks. For a scale-free network model with homogeneous nodes, we show by means of extensive simulations that the exponential truncation, due to the finite size of the network, of the degree distribution governs the scaling of the extreme values and that the distribution of maxima follows the Gumbel statistics. For a scale-free network model with heterogeneous nodes, we show that scaling no longer holds and that the truncation of the degree distribution no longer controls the maxima distribution.     

面向成本-收益好的无标度耦合网络构建方法

较大平均路径长度的网络会带来较大的网络延迟, 难以支持时间敏感业务与应用. 通过增加连接可以降低源和目的节点之间的跳数, 进而降低网络平均延迟, 使得更加快速地传播信息, 但是增加连接的同时也增加了网络构建成本. 分层网络是研究网络耦合的一个有效方法, 但目前网络构建过程中将每层网络分别处理并认为每层网络之间没有强相关性. 本文提出了一种面向成本-收益的无标度网络动态构建方法. 此方法将网络分为多层, 基于连续论在高层网络中添加连接, 使得网络演化为无标度网络. 此连续过程包括节点度增加过程和局部网络半径增长两个连续过程, 在增加连接的过程中引入表征网络构建成本和收益的成本-收益指标. 模拟结果表明引入成本-收益指标的无标度耦合网络构建方法能够在合理范围内有效降低网络平均路径长度, 提升网络性能, 并且本文给出了耦合网络的动态业务性能, 通过调整高层网络避免网络拥塞.     

一类高聚类系数的加权无标度网络及其同步能力分析

针对真实世界中大规模网络都具有明显聚类效应的特点, 提出一类具有高聚类系数的加权无标度网络演化模型, 该模型同时考虑了优先连接、三角结构、随机连接和社团结构等四种演化机制. 在模型演化规则中, 以概率p增加单个节点, 以概率1–p增加一个社团. 与以往研究的不同在于新边的建立, 以概率φ在旧节点之间进行三角连接, 以概率1–φ进行随机连接. 仿真分析表明, 所提出的网络度、强度和权值分布都是服从幂律分布的形式, 且具有高聚类系数的特性, 聚类系数的提高与社团结构和随机连接机制有直接的关系. 最后通过数值仿真分析了网络演化机制对同步动态特性的影响, 数值仿真结果表明, 网络的平均聚类系数越小, 网络的同步能力越强. 关键词： 无标度网络 加权网络 聚类系数 同步能力     

Robustness measurement of scale-free networks based on motif entropy

As a classical complex network model, scale-free network is widely used and studied. And motifs, as a high-order subgraph structure, frequently appear in scale-free networks, and have a great influence on the structural integrity, functional integrity and dynamics of the networks. In order to overcome the shortcomings in the existing work on the robustness of complex networks, only nodes or edges are considered, while the defects of high-order structure in the network are ignored. From the perspective of network motif, we propose an entropy of node degree distribution based on motif to measure the robustness of scale-free networks under random attacks. The effectiveness and superiority of our method are verified and analyzed in the BA scale-free networks.     

Scale-free network provides an optimal pattern for knowledge transfer

We study numerically the knowledge innovation and diffusion process on four representative network models, such as regular networks, small-world networks, random networks and scale-free networks. The average knowledge stock level as a function of time is measured and the corresponding growth diffusion time, τ is defined and computed. On the four types of networks, the growth diffusion times all depend linearly on the network size N as τN, while the slope for scale-free network is minimal indicating the fastest growth and diffusion of knowledge. The calculated variance and spatial distribution of knowledge stock illustrate that optimal knowledge transfer performance is obtained on scale-free networks. We also investigate the transient pattern of knowledge diffusion on the four networks, and a qualitative explanation of this finding is proposed.