No Arabic abstract
K-core and bootstrap percolation are widely studied models that have been used to represent and understand diverse deactivation and activation processes in natural and social systems. Since these models are considerably similar, it has been suggested in recent years that they could be complementary. In this manuscript we provide a rigorous analysis that shows that for any degree and threshold distributions heterogeneous bootstrap percolation can be mapped into heterogeneous k-core percolation and vice versa, if the functionality thresholds in both processes satisfy a complementary relation. Another interesting problem in bootstrap and k-core percolation is the fraction of nodes belonging to their giant connected components $P_{infty b}$ and $P_{infty c}$, respectively. We solve this problem analytically for arbitrary randomly connected graphs and arbitrary threshold distributions, and we show that $P_{infty b}$ and $P_{infty c}$ are not complementary. Our theoretical results coincide with computer simulations in the limit of very large graphs. In bootstrap percolation, we show that when using the branching theory to compute the size of the giant component, we must consider two different types of links, which are related to distinct spanning branches of active nodes.
Cascading failures in complex systems have been studied extensively using two different models: $k$-core percolation and interdependent networks. We combine the two models into a general model, solve it analytically and validate our theoretical results through extensive simulations. We also study the complete phase diagram of the percolation transition as we tune the average local $k$-core threshold and the coupling between networks. We find that the phase diagram of the combined processes is very rich and includes novel features that do not appear in the models studying each of the processes separately. For example, the phase diagram consists of first and second-order transition regions separated by two tricritical lines that merge together and enclose a novel two-stage transition region. In the two-stage transition, the size of the giant component undergoes a first-order jump at a certain occupation probability followed by a continuous second-order transition at a lower occupation probability. Furthermore, at certain fixed interdependencies, the percolation transition changes from first-order $rightarrow$ second-order $rightarrow$ two-stage $rightarrow$ first-order as the $k$-core threshold is increased. The analytic equations describing the phase boundaries of the two-stage transition region are set up and the critical exponents for each type of transition are derived analytically.
Many real-world networks are coupled together to maintain their normal functions. Here we study the robustness of multiplex networks with interdependent and interconnected links under k-core percolation, where a node fails when it connects to a threshold of less than k neighbors. By deriving the self-consistency equations, we solve the key quantities of interests such as the critical threshold and size of the giant component analytically and validate the theoretical results with numerical simulations. We find a rich phase transition phenomenon as we tune the inter-layer coupling strength. Specifically speaking, in the ER-ER multiplex networks, with the increase of coupling strength, the size of the giant component in each layer first undergoes a first-order transition and then a second-order transition and finally a first-order transition. This is due to the nature of inter-layer links with both connectivity and dependency simultaneously. The system is more robust if the dependency on the initial robust network is strong and more vulnerable if the dependency on the initial attacked network is strong. These effects are even amplified in the cascading process. When applying our model to the SF-SF multiplex networks, the type of transition changes. The system undergoes a first-order phase transition first only when the two layers mutually coupling is very strong and a second-order transition in other conditions.
Bootstrap percolation is an often used model to study the spread of diseases, rumors, and information on sparse random graphs. The percolation process demonstrates a critical value such that the graph is either almost completely affected or almost completely unaffected based on the initial seed being larger or smaller than the critical value. To analyze intervention strategies we provide the first analytic determination of the critical value for basic bootstrap percolation in random graphs when the vertex thresholds are nonuniform and provide an efficient algorithm. This result also helps solve the problem of Percolation with Coinflips when the infection process is not deterministic, which has been a criticism about the model. We also extend the results to clustered random graphs thereby extending the classes of graphs considered. In these graphs the vertices are grouped in a small number of clusters, the clusters model a fixed communication network and the edge probability is dependent if the vertices are in close or far clusters. We present simulations for both basic percolation and interventions that support our theoretical results.
In many real network systems, nodes usually cooperate with each other and form groups, in order to enhance their robustness to risks. This motivates us to study a new type of percolation, group percolation, in interdependent networks under attacks. In this model, nodes belonging to the same group survive or fail together. We develop a theoretical framework for this novel group percolation and find that the formation of groups can improve the resilience of interdependent networks significantly. However, the percolation transition is always of first order, regardless of the distribution of group sizes. As an application, we map the interdependent networks with inter-similarity structures, which attract many attentions very recently, onto the group percolation and confirm the non-existence of continuous phase transitions.
As a fundamental structural transition in complex networks, core percolation is related to a wide range of important problems. Yet, previous theoretical studies of core percolation have been focusing on the classical ErdH{o}s-Renyi random networks with Poisson degree distribution, which are quite unlike many real-world networks with scale-free or fat-tailed degree distributions. Here we show that core percolation can be analytically studied for complex networks with arbitrary degree distributions. We derive the condition for core percolation and find that purely scale-free networks have no core for any degree exponents. We show that for undirected networks if core percolation occurs then it is always continuous while for directed networks it becomes discontinuous when the in- and out-degree distributions are different. We also apply our theory to real-world directed networks and find, surprisingly, that they often have much larger core sizes as compared to random models. These findings would help us better understand the interesting interplay between the structural and dynamical properties of complex networks.