https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2003-00031-9
Disease spreading in structured scale-free networks
1
The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical
Physics, PO Box 586, 34100 Trieste, Italy
2
Departamento de Física Teórica, Universidad de
Zaragoza, Zaragoza 50009, Spain
3
International School
for Advanced Studies SISSA/ISAS, via Beirut 4, 34014 Trieste, Italy
Corresponding author: a yamir@ictp.trieste.it
Received:
16
October
2002
Published online:
4
February
2003
We study the spreading of a disease on top of structured scale-free networks recently introduced. By means of numerical simulations we analyze the SIS and the SIR models. Our results show that when the connectivity fluctuations of the network are unbounded whether the epidemic threshold exists strongly depends on the initial density of infected individuals and the type of epidemiological model considered. Analytical arguments are provided in order to account for the observed behavior. We conclude that the peculiar topological features of this network and the absence of small-world properties determine the dynamics of epidemic spreading.
PACS: 89.75.-k – Complex systems / 89.75.Fb – Structures and organization in complex systems / 05.70.Jk – Critical point phenomena
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag, 2003