Spectral dimensions of hierarchical scale-free networks with weighted shortcuts

Spectral dimensions have been widely used to understand transport properties on regular and fractal lattices. However, they have received little attention with regard to complex networks such as scale-free and small-world networks. Here, we study the spectral dimension and the return-to-origin probability of random walks on hierarchical scale-free networks, which can be either fractal or nonfractal depending on the weight of the shortcuts. Applying the renormalization-group (RG) approach to a Gaussian model, we obtain the exact spectral dimension. While the spectral dimension varies between 1 and 2 for the fractal case, it remains at 2, independent of the variation in the network structure, for the nonfractal case. The crossover behavior between the two cases is studied by carrying out the RG flow analysis. The analytical results are confirmed by simulation results and their implications for the architecture of complex systems are discussed.