Two universal physical principles shape the power-law statistics of real-world networks

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...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inarXiv.org
Main Authors Lorimer, Tom, Gomez, Florian, Stoop, Ruedi
Format Paper Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 22.05.2015
Subjects
Fractals
Mesoscale phenomena
Networks
Physics - Physics and Society
Physics - Statistical Mechanics
Power law
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Summary: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 of complex networks, toward the use of power-law deviations to infer meso-scale structure from macroscopic observations.
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.1505.06005