Spatial preferential attachment networks: Power laws and clustering coefficients

We define a class of growing networks in which new nodes are given a spatial position and are connected to existing nodes with a probability mechanism favoring short distances and high degrees. The competition of preferential attachment and spatial clustering gives this model a range of interesting properties. Empirical degree distributions converge to a limit law, which can be a power law with any exponent $\tau>2$. The average clustering coefficient of the networks converges to a positive limit. Finally, a phase transition occurs in the global clustering coefficients and empirical distribution of edge lengths when the power-law exponent crosses the critical value $\tau=3$. Our main tool in the proof of these results is a general weak law of large numbers in the spirit of Penrose and Yukich.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/14-AAP1006 the Annals of Applied Probability (http://www.imstat.org/aap/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Robustness of scale-free spatial networks

A growing family of random graphs is called robust if it retains a giant component after percolation with arbitrary positive retention probability. We study robustness for graphs, in which new vertices are given a spatial position on the $d$-dimensional torus and are connected to existing vertices with a probability favouring short spatial distances and high degrees. In this model of a scale-free network with clustering we can independently tune the power law exponent $\tau$ of the degree distribution and the rate $\delta d$ at which the connection probability decreases with the distance of two vertices. We show that the network is robust if $\tau<2+1/\delta$, but fails to be robust if $\tau>3$. In the case of one-dimensional space we also show that the network is not robust if $\tau<2+1/(\delta-1)$. This implies that robustness of a scale-free network depends not only on its power-law exponent but also on its clustering features. Other than the classical models of scale-free networks our model is not locally tree-like, and hence we need to develop novel methods for its study, including, for example, a surprising application of the BK-inequality.Comment: 34 pages, 4 figure

Scale-free behavior of networks with the copresence of preferential and uniform attachment rules

Complex networks in different areas exhibit degree distributions with heavy upper tail. A preferential attachment mechanism in a growth process produces a graph with this feature. We herein investigate a variant of the simple preferential attachment model, whose modifications are interesting for two main reasons: to analyze more realistic models and to study the robustness of the scale free behavior of the degree distribution. We introduce and study a model which takes into account two different attachment rules: a preferential attachment mechanism (with probability 1-p) that stresses the rich get richer system, and a uniform choice (with probability p) for the most recent nodes. The latter highlights a trend to select one of the last added nodes when no information is available. The recent nodes can be either a given fixed number or a proportion (\alpha n) of the total number of existing nodes. In the first case, we prove that this model exhibits an asymptotically power-law degree distribution. The same result is then illustrated through simulations in the second case. When the window of recent nodes has constant size, we herein prove that the presence of the uniform rule delays the starting time from which the asymptotic regime starts to hold. The mean number of nodes of degree k and the asymptotic degree distribution are also determined analytically. Finally, a sensitivity analysis on the parameters of the model is performed