Average distance in a hierarchical scale-free network: an exact solution

Various real systems simultaneously exhibit scale-free and hierarchical structure. In this paper, we study analytically average distance in a deterministic scale-free network with hierarchical organization. Using a recursive method based on the network construction, we determine explicitly the average distance, obtaining an exact expression for it, which is confirmed by extensive numerical calculations. The obtained rigorous solution shows that the average distance grows logarithmically with the network order (number of nodes in the network). We exhibit the similarity and dissimilarity in average distance between the network under consideration and some previously studied networks, including random networks and other deterministic networks. On the basis of the comparison, we argue that the logarithmic scaling of average distance with network order could be a generic feature of deterministic scale-free networks.Comment: Definitive version published in Journal of Statistical Mechanic

Topological phases in Kitaev chain with imbalanced pairing

We systematically study a Kitaev chain with imbalanced pair creation and annihilation, which is introduced by non-Hermitian pairing terms. Exact phase diagram shows that the topological phase is still robust under the influence of the conditional imbalance. The gapped phases are characterized by a topological invariant, the extended Zak phase, which is defined by the biorthonormal inner product. Such phases are destroyed at the points where the coalescence of groundstates occur, associating with the time-reversal symmetry breaking. We find that the Majorana edge modes also exist for the open chain within unbroken time-reversal symmetric region, demonstrating the bulk-edge correspondence in such a non-Hermitian system.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure