June 18, 2013
Complex networks are now being studied in a wide range of disciplines across science and technology. In this paper we propose a method by which one can probe the properties of experimentally obtained network data. Rather than just measuring properties of a network inferred from data, we aim to ask how typical is that network? What properties of the observed network are typical of all such scale free networks, and which are peculiar? To do this we propose a series of methods that can be used to generate statistically likely complex networks which are both similar to the observed data and also consistent with an underlying null-hypothesis -- for example a particular degree distribution. There is a direct analogy between the approach we propose here and the surrogate data methods applied to nonlinear time series data.
Similar papers 1
September 4, 2013
Many complex natural and physical systems exhibit patterns of interconnection that conform, approximately, to a network structure referred to as scale-free. Preferential attachment is one of many algorithms that have been introduced to model the growth and structure of scale-free networks. With so many different models of scale-free networks it is unclear what properties of scale-free networks are typical, and what properties are peculiarities of a particular growth or constr...
May 31, 2013
The concept of scale-free networks has been widely applied across natural and physical sciences. Many claims are made about the properties of these networks, even though the concept of scale-free is often vaguely defined. We present tools and procedures to analyse the statistical properties of networks defined by arbitrary degree distributions and other constraints. Doing so reveals the highly likely properties, and some unrecognised richness, of scale-free networks, and cast...
March 7, 2007
We present a statistical mechanics approach for the description of complex networks. We first define an energy and an entropy associated to a degree distribution which have a geometrical interpretation. Next we evaluate the distribution which extremize the free energy of the network. We find two important limiting cases: a scale-free degree distribution and a finite-scale degree distribution. The size of the space of allowed simple networks given these distribution is evaluat...
June 14, 2006
In this paper we describe the emergence of scale-free degree distributions from statistical mechanics principles. We define an energy associated to a degree sequence as the logarithm of the number of indistinguishable simple networks it is possible to draw given the degree sequence. Keeping fixed the total number of nodes and links, we show that the energy of scale-free distribution is much higher than the energy associated to the degree sequence of regular random graphs. Thi...
September 7, 2016
Research on generative models is a central project in the emerging field of network science, and it studies how statistical patterns found in real networks could be generated by formal rules. Output from these generative models is then the basis for designing and evaluating computational methods on networks, and for verification and simulation studies. During the last two decades, a variety of models has been proposed with an ultimate goal of achieving comprehensive realism f...
November 19, 2023
The power-law distribution plays a crucial role in complex networks as well as various applied sciences. Investigating whether the degree distribution of a network follows a power-law distribution is an important concern. The commonly used inferential methods for estimating the model parameters often yield biased estimates, which can lead to the rejection of the hypothesis that a model conforms to a power-law. In this paper, we discuss improved methods that utilize Bayesian i...
August 12, 2009
We study the tailoring of structured random graph ensembles to real networks, with the objective of generating precise and practical mathematical tools for quantifying and comparing network topologies macroscopically, beyond the level of degree statistics. Our family of ensembles can produce graphs with any prescribed degree distribution and any degree-degree correlation function, its control parameters can be calculated fully analytically, and as a result we can calculate (a...
August 31, 2006
We introduce a simple one-parameter network growth algorithm which is able to reproduce a wide variety of realistic network structures but without having to invoke any global information about node degrees such as preferential-attachment probabilities. Scale-free networks arise at the transition point between quasi-random and quasi-ordered networks. We provide a detailed formalism which accurately describes the entire network range, including this critical point. Our formalis...
January 9, 2018
A central claim in modern network science is that real-world networks are typically "scale free," meaning that the fraction of nodes with degree $k$ follows a power law, decaying like $k^{-\alpha}$, often with $2 < \alpha < 3$. However, empirical evidence for this belief derives from a relatively small number of real-world networks. We test the universality of scale-free structure by applying state-of-the-art statistical tools to a large corpus of nearly 1000 network data set...
June 6, 2001
Complex networks describe a wide range of systems in nature and society, much quoted examples including the cell, a network of chemicals linked by chemical reactions, or the Internet, a network of routers and computers connected by physical links. While traditionally these systems were modeled as random graphs, it is increasingly recognized that the topology and evolution of real networks is governed by robust organizing principles. Here we review the recent advances in the f...