Robustness and assortativity for diffusion-like processes in scale-free networks

2011/05/31 by Gregorio D’Agostino, Gregorio D'Agostino, Antonio Scala +2 · 3 citations
Computer Science · Mathematics · Medicine · Physics and Astronomy · #Assortative mating #Assortativity #Biology #COVID-19 epidemiological studies #Cascading failure #Complex Network Analysis Techniques #Complex network #Computer science #Econometrics #Economics #Epidemic model #Genetics #Medicine #Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence #Physics #Population #Quantum mechanics #Resilience (materials science) #Robustness (evolution) #Scale-free network #Statistical physics #cond-mat.dis-nn #cond-mat.stat-mech #cs.SI #physics.soc-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1209/0295-5075/97/68006

published as European Physics Letters, Vol. 97, No. 6 (March 2012) 68006 · 4 pages, 4 figures

openalex publication_date 2012/03/01 · arxiv created 2012/11/23 · arxiv updated 2012/11/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

By analysing the diffusive dynamics of epidemics and of distress in complex networks, we study the effect of the assortativity on the robustness of the networks. We first determine by spectral analysis the thresholds above which epidemics/failures can spread; we then calculate the slowest diffusional times. Our results shows that disassortative networks exhibit a higher epidemiological threshold and are therefore easier to immunize, while in assortative networks there is a longer time for intervention before epidemic/failure spreads. Moreover, we study by computer simulations the sandpile cascade model, a diffusive model of distress propagation (financial contagion). We show that, while assortative networks are more prone to the propagation of epidemic/failures, degree-targeted immunization policies increases their resilience to systemic risk.

Citations

• Spectral graph theory [CBMS Conference on Recent Advances in Spectral Graph Theory held at California State University at Fresno, June 6 - 10. 1994]
• Catastrophic cascade of failures in interdependent networks
• Percolation transition in networks with degree-degree correlation
• Emergence of scaling in random networks
• Sandpile on Scale-Free Networks
• Scale-Free Networks
• Epidemic Threshold in Structured Scale-Free Networks
• Epidemic Spreading in Scale-Free Networks
• Assortative Mixing in Networks
• Statistical mechanics of complex networks

Cited by

• Network reliability: The effect of local network structure on diffusive processes
• Controlling systemic risk: Network structures that minimize it and node properties to calculate it
• Structural bounds on the dyadic effect