Are Randomly Grown Graphs Really Random?
We analyze a minimal model of a growing network. At each time step, a new vertex is added; then, with probability \delta, two vertices are chosen uniformly at random and joined by an undirected edge. This process is repeated for t time steps. In the limit of large t, the resulting graph displays surprisingly rich characteristics. In particular, a giant component emerges in an infinite-order phase transition at \delta = 1/8. At the transition, the average component size jumps discontinuously but remains finite. In contrast, a static random graph with the same degree distribution exhibits a second-order phase transition at \delta = 1/4, and the average component size diverges there. These dramatic differences between grown and static random graphs stem from a positive correlation between the degrees of connected vertices in the grown graph--older vertices tend to have higher degree, and to link with other high-degree vertices, merely by virtue of their age. We conclude that grown graphs, however randomly they are constructed, are fundamentally different from their static random graph counterparts.
Year of publication: |
2001-05
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Authors: | Callaway, D. S. ; Hopcroft, J. E. ; Kleinberg, J. M. ; Newman, M. E. J. ; Strogatz, S. H. |
Institutions: | Santa Fe Institute |
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