2001/02/07 by Romualdo Pastor-Satorras, Alessandro Vespignani · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Physics and Astronomy · #cond-mat.stat-mech #q-bio
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreve.63.066117
published as Phys. Rev. E 63, 066117 (2001) · 9 pages, RevTex style, 10 EPS figures; Updated references
arxiv created 2001/02/07 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30
We study by analytical methods and large scale simulations a dynamical model for the spreading of epidemics in complex networks. In networks with exponentially bounded connectivity we recover the usual epidemic behavior with a threshold defining a critical point below which the infection prevalence is null. On the contrary, on a wide range of scale-free networks we observe the absence of an epidemic threshold and its associated critical behavior. This implies that scale-free networks are prone to the spreading and the persistence of infections whatever spreading rate the epidemic agents might possess. These results can help understanding computer virus epidemics and other spreading phenomena on communication and social networks.