2007/07/31 by Ginestra Bianconi, Natali Gulbahce, Adilson E. Motter · 5 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Physics and Astronomy · #Algorithm #Complex Network Analysis Techniques #Complex network #Computer science #Directed graph #Evolving networks #Gene Regulatory Network Analysis #Interdependent networks #Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence #Physics #Statistical physics #Theoretical computer science #Work (physics) #cond-mat.dis-nn #physics.soc-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.100.118701
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 118701 (2008)
openalex publication_date 2008/03/20 · arxiv created 2008/04/05 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Previous work on undirected small-world networks established the paradigm that locally structured networks tend to have a high density of short loops. On the other hand, many realistic networks are directed. Here we investigate the local organization of directed networks and find, surprisingly, that real networks often have very few short loops as compared to random models. We develop a theory and derive conditions for determining if a given network has more or less loops than its randomized counterparts. These findings carry broad implications for structural and dynamical processes sustained by directed networks.