arXiv subjects

Mark Fricker

Publications and source records attributed to Mark Fricker.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2009

Network Automata: Coupling structure and function in real-world networks

We introduce Network Automata, a framework which couples the topological evolution of a network to its structure. It is useful for dealing with networks in which the topology evolves according to some specified microscopic rules and, simultaneously, there is a dynamic process taking place on the network that both depends on its structure but is also capable of modifying it. It is a generic framework for modeling systems in which network structure, dynamics, and function are interrelated. At the practical level, this framework allows for easy implementation of the microscopic rules involved in such systems. To demonstrate the approach, we develop a class of simple biologically inspired models of fungal growth.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2006

Interplay between function and structure in complex networks

We show that abrupt structural transitions can arise in functionally optimal networks, driven by small changes in the level of transport congestion. Our results offer an explanation as to why so many diverse species of network structure arise in Nature (e.g. fungal systems) under essentially the same environmental conditions. Our findings are based on an exactly solvable model system which mimics a variety of biological and social networks. We then extend our analysis by introducing a novel renormalization scheme involving cost motifs, to describe analytically the average shortest path across multiple-ring-and-hub networks. As a consequence, we uncover a 'skin effect' whereby the structure of the inner multi-ring core can cease to play any role in terms of determining the average shortest path across the network.

physics.bio-ph↗

arXiv2005

Abrupt structural transitions involving functionally optimal networks

We show analytically that abrupt structural transitions can arise in functionally optimal networks, driven by small changes in the level of transport congestion. Our findings are based on an exactly solvable model system which mimics a variety of biological and social networks. Our results offer an explanation as to why such diverse sets of network structures arise in Nature (e.g. fungi) under essentially the same environmental conditions. As a by-product of this work, we introduce a novel renormalization scheme involving `cost motifs' which describes analytically the average shortest path across multiple-ring-and-hub networks.

physics.soc-ph↗