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Dynamics of condensation in growing complex networks
Luca Ferretti1, Ginestra Bianconi
1SISSA, via Beirut 4, I-34014 Trieste, Italy.
Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
|December 31, 2008
Summary
Technological networks exhibit a condensation transition where one node gains most links. Below a critical temperature, network dynamics slow down, and a single node dominates over time.
Area of Science:
- Network Science
- Statistical Physics
- Complex Systems
Background:
- Growing technological networks often follow preferential attachment and node quality competition (fitness model).
- Previous work identified a condensation transition and its critical point using steady-state analysis and Bose-Einstein condensation analogies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To dynamically characterize the condensation transition in fitness model networks.
- To investigate the emergence of a dominant node and associated dynamic slowdowns below the critical point.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of network growth dynamics under preferential attachment with competing node fitness.
- Examination of the characteristic time for condensation phenomenon divergence.
Main Results:
- Evidence of a dynamic slowdown below the condensation temperature.
- Observation that a single node, not necessarily the highest quality, emerges as dominant over long timescales.
- The characteristic condensation time diverges at the critical point and as temperature approaches zero under deterministic attachment.
Conclusions:
- The condensation transition in fitness networks is characterized by dynamic slowdowns and the emergence of a single dominant node.
- The dynamics are sensitive to temperature and attachment rules, with deterministic attachment leading to divergence in condensation time.
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