The Rich-Club Phenomenon In The Internet Topology

We show that the Internet topology at the Autonomous System (AS) level has a rich--club phenomenon. The rich nodes, which are a small number of nodes with large numbers of links, are very well connected to each other. The rich--club is a core tier that we measured using the rich--club connectivity and the node--node link distribution. We obtained this core tier without any heuristic assumption between the ASes. The rich--club phenomenon is a simple qualitative way to differentiate between power law topologies and provides a criterion for new network models. To show this, we compared the measured rich--club of the AS graph with networks obtained using the Barab\'asi--Albert (BA) scale--free network model, the Fitness BA model and the Inet--3.0 model.Comment: To be appeared in the IEEE Communications Letter

System size stochastic resonance in a model for opinion formation

We study a model for opinion formation which incorporates three basic ingredients for the evolution of the opinion held by an individual: imitation, influence of fashion and randomness. We show that in the absence of fashion, the model behaves as a bistable system with random jumps between the two stable states with a distribution of times following Kramer's law. We also demonstrate the existence of system size stochastic resonance, by which there is an optimal value for the number of individuals N for which the average opinion follows better the fashion.Comment: 10 pages, to appear in Physica

Accurately modeling the Internet topology

Based on measurements of the Internet topology data, we found out that there are two mechanisms which are necessary for the correct modeling of the Internet topology at the Autonomous Systems (AS) level: the Interactive Growth of new nodes and new internal links, and a nonlinear preferential attachment, where the preference probability is described by a positive-feedback mechanism. Based on the above mechanisms, we introduce the Positive-Feedback Preference (PFP) model which accurately reproduces many topological properties of the AS-level Internet, including: degree distribution, rich-club connectivity, the maximum degree, shortest path length, short cycles, disassortative mixing and betweenness centrality. The PFP model is a phenomenological model which provides a novel insight into the evolutionary dynamics of real complex networks.Comment: 20 pages and 17 figure

Continuous-variable quantum key distribution protocols over noisy channels

A continuous-variable quantum key distribution protocol based on squeezed states and heterodyne detection is introduced and shown to attain higher secret key rates over a noisy line than any other one-way Gaussian protocol. This increased resistance to channel noise can be understood as resulting from purposely adding noise to the signal that is converted into the secret key. This notion of noise-enhanced tolerance to noise also provides a better physical insight into the poorly understood discrepancies between the previously defined families of Gaussian protocols.Comment: Minor modifications to match published manuscrip

Unconditional optimality of Gaussian attacks against continuous-variable QKD

A fully general approach to the security analysis of continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) is presented. Provided that the quantum channel is estimated via the covariance matrix of the quadratures, Gaussian attacks are shown to be optimal against all eavesdropping strategies, including collective and coherent attacks. The proof is made strikingly simple by combining a physical model of measurement, an entanglement-based description of CV-QKD, and a recent powerful result on the extremality of Gaussian states [Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 080502 (2006)].Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure