Renormalization of Complex Networks with Partition Functions

In analogy to superstatistics, which connects Boltzmann-Gibbs statistical mechanics to its generalizations through temperature fluctuations, complex networks are constructed from the fluctuating Erdos-Renyi random graphs. Here, using the quantum mechanical method, the exact analytic formula is presented for the hidden variable distribution, which describes the fluctuation and generates a generic degree distribution through the Poisson transformation. As an example, a static s...

Based on a rigorous extension of classical statistical mechanics to networks, we study a specific microscopic network Hamiltonian. The form of this Hamiltonian is derived from the assumption that individual nodes increase/decrease their utility by linking to nodes with a higher/lower degree than their own. We interpret utility as an equivalent to energy in physical systems and discuss the temperature dependence of the emerging networks. We observe the existence of a critical ...

We consider the self organizing process of merging and regeneration of vertices in complex networks and demonstrate that a scale-free degree distribution emerges in a steady state of such a dynamics. The merging of neighbor vertices in a network may be viewed as an optimization of efficiency by minimizing redundancy. It is also a mechanism to shorten the distance and thus decrease signaling times between vertices in a complex network. Thus the merging process will in particul...

We propose a cross-order Laplacian renormalization group (X-LRG) scheme for arbitrary higher-order networks. The renormalization group is a pillar of the theory of scaling, scale-invariance, and universality in physics. An RG scheme based on diffusion dynamics was recently introduced for complex networks with dyadic interactions. Despite mounting evidence of the importance of polyadic interactions, we still lack a general RG scheme for higher-order networks. Our approach uses...

The study of complex networks has pursued an understanding of macroscopic behavior by focusing on power-laws in microscopic observables. Here, we uncover two universal fundamental physical principles that are at the basis of complex networks generation. These principles together predict the generic emergence of deviations from ideal power laws, which were previously discussed away by reference to the thermodynamic limit. Our approach proposes a paradigm shift in the physics o...

A non technical introduction to the concept of renormalization is given, with an emphasis on the energy scale dependence in the description of a physical system. We first describe the idea of scale dependence in the study of a ferromagnetic phase transition, and then show how similar ideas appear in Particle Physics. This short review is written for non-particle physicists and/or students aiming at studying Particle Physics.

We study the statistical properties of observables of scale-free networks in the degree-thresholding renormalization (DTR) flows. For BA scale-free networks with different sizes, we find that their structural and dynamical observables have similar scaling behavior in the DTR flow. The finite-size scaling analysis confirms this view and reveals a scaling function with a single scaling exponent that collectively captures the changes of these observables. Furthermore, for the sc...

Scale-free and non-computable characteristics of natural networks are found to result from the least-time dispersal of energy. To consider a network as a thermodynamic system is motivated since ultimately everything that exists can be expressed in terms of energy. According to the variational principle, the network will grow and restructure when flows of energy diminish energy differences between nodes as well as relative to nodes in surrounding systems. The natural process w...

This article addresses the degree distribution of subnetworks, namely the number of links between the nodes in each subnetwork and the remainder of the structure (cond-mat/0408076). The transformation from a subnetwork-partitioned model to a standard weighted network, as well as its inverse, are formalized. Such concepts are then considered in order to obtain scale free subnetworks through design or through a dynamics of node exchange. While the former approach allows the imm...

Inspired by empirical studies of networked systems such as the Internet, social networks, and biological networks, researchers have in recent years developed a variety of techniques and models to help us understand or predict the behavior of these systems. Here we review developments in this field, including such concepts as the small-world effect, degree distributions, clustering, network correlations, random graph models, models of network growth and preferential attachment...