14,719 research outputs found
Do the rich get richer? An empirical analysis of the BitCoin transaction network
The possibility to analyze everyday monetary transactions is limited by the
scarcity of available data, as this kind of information is usually considered
highly sensitive. Present econophysics models are usually employed on presumed
random networks of interacting agents, and only macroscopic properties (e.g.
the resulting wealth distribution) are compared to real-world data. In this
paper, we analyze BitCoin, which is a novel digital currency system, where the
complete list of transactions is publicly available. Using this dataset, we
reconstruct the network of transactions, and extract the time and amount of
each payment. We analyze the structure of the transaction network by measuring
network characteristics over time, such as the degree distribution, degree
correlations and clustering. We find that linear preferential attachment drives
the growth of the network. We also study the dynamics taking place on the
transaction network, i.e. the flow of money. We measure temporal patterns and
the wealth accumulation. Investigating the microscopic statistics of money
movement, we find that sublinear preferential attachment governs the evolution
of the wealth distribution. We report a scaling relation between the degree and
wealth associated to individual nodes.Comment: Project website: http://www.vo.elte.hu/bitcoin/; updated after
publicatio
An extended formalism for preferential attachment in heterogeneous complex networks
In this paper we present a framework for the extension of the preferential
attachment (PA) model to heterogeneous complex networks. We define a class of
heterogeneous PA models, where node properties are described by fixed states in
an arbitrary metric space, and introduce an affinity function that biases the
attachment probabilities of links. We perform an analytical study of the
stationary degree distributions in heterogeneous PA networks. We show that
their degree densities exhibit a richer scaling behavior than their homogeneous
counterparts, and that the power law scaling in the degree distribution is
robust in presence of heterogeneity
Assortativity and leadership emergence from anti-preferential attachment in heterogeneous networks
Many real-world networks exhibit degree-assortativity, with nodes of similar
degree more likely to link to one another. Particularly in social networks, the
contribution to the total assortativity varies with degree, featuring a
distinctive peak slightly past the average degree. The way traditional models
imprint assortativity on top of pre-defined topologies is via degree-preserving
link permutations, which however destroy the particular graph's hierarchical
traits of clustering. Here, we propose the first generative model which creates
heterogeneous networks with scale-free-like properties and tunable realistic
assortativity. In our approach, two distinct populations of nodes are added to
an initial network seed: one (the followers) that abides by usual preferential
rules, and one (the potential leaders) connecting via anti-preferential
attachments, i.e. selecting lower degree nodes for their initial links. The
latter nodes come to develop a higher average degree, and convert eventually
into the final hubs. Examining the evolution of links in Facebook, we present
empirical validation for the connection between the initial anti-preferential
attachment and long term high degree. Thus, our work sheds new light on the
structure and evolution of social networks
Making new connections towards cooperation in the prisoner's dilemma game
Evolution of cooperation in the prisoner's dilemma game is studied where
initially all players are linked via a regular graph, having four neighbors
each. Simultaneously with the strategy evolution, players are allowed to make
new connections and thus permanently extend their neighborhoods, provided they
have been successful in passing their strategy to the opponents. We show that
this simple coevolutionary rule shifts the survival barrier of cooperators
towards high temptations to defect and results in highly heterogeneous
interaction networks with an exponential fit best characterizing their degree
distributions. In particular, there exist an optimal maximal degree for the
promotion of cooperation, warranting the best exchange of information between
influential players.Comment: 6 two-column pages, 7 figures; accepted for publication in
Europhysics Letter
A Scale-Free Topology Construction Model for Wireless Sensor Networks
A local-area and energy-efficient (LAEE) evolution model for wireless sensor
networks is proposed. The process of topology evolution is divided into two
phases. In the first phase, nodes are distributed randomly in a fixed region.
In the second phase, according to the spatial structure of wireless sensor
networks, topology evolution starts from the sink, grows with an
energy-efficient preferential attachment rule in the new node's local-area, and
stops until all nodes are connected into network. Both analysis and simulation
results show that the degree distribution of LAEE follows the power law. This
topology construction model has better tolerance against energy depletion or
random failure than other non-scale-free WSN topologies.Comment: 13pages, 3 figure
Sustainable growth in complex networks
Based on the empirical analysis of the dependency network in 18 Java
projects, we develop a novel model of network growth which considers both: an
attachment mechanism and the addition of new nodes with a heterogeneous
distribution of their initial degree, . Empirically we find that the
cumulative degree distributions of initial degrees and of the final network,
follow power-law behaviors: , and
, respectively. For the total number of links as a
function of the network size, we find empirically ,
where is (at the beginning of the network evolution) between 1.25 and
2, while converging to for large . This indicates a transition from
a growth regime with increasing network density towards a sustainable regime,
which revents a collapse because of ever increasing dependencies. Our
theoretical framework is able to predict relations between the exponents
, , , which also link issues of software engineering and
developer activity. These relations are verified by means of computer
simulations and empirical investigations. They indicate that the growth of real
Open Source Software networks occurs on the edge between two regimes, which are
either dominated by the initial degree distribution of added nodes, or by the
preferential attachment mechanism. Hence, the heterogeneous degree distribution
of newly added nodes, found empirically, is essential to describe the laws of
sustainable growth in networks.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, 1 tabl
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