Epidemic outbreaks in growing scale-free networks with local structure

Shunjiang Ni, Wenguo Weng, Shifei Shen and Weicheng Fan

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 2008, vol. 387, issue 21, 5295-5302

Abstract: The class of generative models has already attracted considerable interest from researchers in recent years and much expanded the original ideas described in BA model. Most of these models assume that only one node per time step joins the network. In this paper, we grow the network by adding n interconnected nodes as a local structure into the network at each time step with each new node emanating m new edges linking the node to the preexisting network by preferential attachment. This successfully generates key features observed in social networks. These include power-law degree distribution pk∼k−(3+μ), where μ=(n−1)/m is a tuning parameter defined as the modularity strength of the network, nontrivial clustering, assortative mixing, and modular structure. Moreover, all these features are dependent in a similar way on the parameter μ. We then study the susceptible-infected epidemics on this network with identical infectivity, and find that the initial epidemic behavior is governed by both of the infection scheme and the network structure, especially the modularity strength. The modularity of the network makes the spreading velocity much lower than that of the BA model. On the other hand, increasing the modularity strength will accelerate the propagation velocity.

Keywords: Social network; Scale-free network; Local structure; Epidemics; SI model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:387:y:2008:i:21:p:5295-5302

DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2008.05.051

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