A simple model of bank bankruptcies

Interbank deposits (loans and credits) are quite common in banking system all over the world. Such interbank co-operation is profitable for banks but it can also lead to collective financial failures. In this paper we introduce a new model of directed percolation as a simple representation for contagion process and mass bankruptcies in banking systems. Directed connections that are randomly distributed between junctions of bank lattice simulate flows of money in our model. Critical values of a mean density of interbank connections as well as static and dynamic scaling laws for the statistic of avalange bankruptcies are found. Results of computer simulations for the universal profile of bankruptcies spreading are in a qualitative agreement with the third wave of bank suspensions during The Great Depression in the USA.Comment: 8 pages, 6 Encapsulated Postscript figures, to be published in Physica A (2001

Development of advanced composite structures

Composite structure programs: the L-1011 Advanced Composite Vertical Fin (ACVF), the L-1011 Advanced Composite Aileron, and a wing study program were reviewed. These programs were structured to provide the technology and confidence for the use of advanced composite materials for primary and secondary structures of future transport aircraft. The current status of the programs is discussed. The results of coupon tests for both material systems are presented as well as the ACVF environmental (moisture and temperature) requirements. The effect of moisture and temperature on the mechanical properties of advanced composite materials is shown. The requirements set forth in the FAA Certification Guidelines for Civil Composite Aircraft Structures are discussed as they relate to the ACVF

Phase transition in hierarchy model of Bonabeau et al

The model of Bonabeau explains the emergence of social hierarchies from the memory of fights in an initially egalitarian society. Introducing a feedback from the social inequality into the probability to win a fight, we find a sharp transition between egalitarian society at low population density and hierarchical society at high population density.Comment: 3 pages including two figs.; for Int. J. Mod. Phys.

Multidimensional Consensus model on a Barabasi-Albert network

A Consensus Model according to Deffuant on a directed Barabasi-Albert network was simulated. Agents have opinions on different subjects. A multi-component subject vector was used. The opinions are discrete. The analysis regards distribution and clusters of agents which are on agreement in the opinions of the subjects. Remarkable results are on the one hand, that there mostly exists no absolute consens. It determines depending on the ratio of number of agents to the number of subjects, whether the communication ends in a consens or a pluralism. Mostly a second robust cluster remains, in its size depending on the number of subjects. Two agents agree either in (nearly) all or (nearly) no subject. The operative parameter of the consens-formating-process is the tolerance in change of views of the group-members.Comment: 14 pages including all 10 figures, for IJMPC 16, issue

Universality of the Threshold for Complete Consensus for the Opinion Dynamics of Deffuant et al

In the compromise model of Deffuant et al., opinions are real numbers between 0 and 1 and two agents are compatible if the difference of their opinions is smaller than the confidence bound parameter \epsilon. The opinions of a randomly chosen pair of compatible agents get closer to each other. We provide strong numerical evidence that the threshold value of \epsilon above which all agents share the same opinion in the final configuration is 1/2, independently of the underlying social topology.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Int. J. Mod. Phys. C 15, issue

Local heuristics and the emergence of spanning subgraphs in complex networks

We study the use of local heuristics to determine spanning subgraphs for use in the dissemination of information in complex networks. We introduce two different heuristics and analyze their behavior in giving rise to spanning subgraphs that perform well in terms of allowing every node of the network to be reached, of requiring relatively few messages and small node bandwidth for information dissemination, and also of stretching paths with respect to the underlying network only modestly. We contribute a detailed mathematical analysis of one of the heuristics and provide extensive simulation results on random graphs for both of them. These results indicate that, within certain limits, spanning subgraphs are indeed expected to emerge that perform well in respect to all requirements. We also discuss the spanning subgraphs' inherent resilience to failures and adaptability to topological changes

Probabilistic heuristics for disseminating information in networks

We study the problem of disseminating a piece of information through all the nodes of a network, given that it is known originally only to a single node. In the absence of any structural knowledge on the network other than the nodes' neighborhoods, this problem is traditionally solved by flooding all the network's edges. We analyze a recently introduced probabilistic algorithm for flooding and give an alternative probabilistic heuristic that can lead to some cost-effective improvements, like better trade-offs between the message and time complexities involved. We analyze the two algorithms both mathematically and by means of simulations, always within a random-graph framework and considering relevant node-degree distributions