We study a dynamical random network model in which at every construction step a new vertex is introduced and attached to every existing vertex independently with a probability proportional to a concave function f of its current degree. We give a criterion for the existence of a giant component, which is both necessary and sufficient, and which becomes explicit when f is linear. Otherwise it allows the derivation of explicit necessary and sufficient conditions, which are often fairly close. We give an explicit criterion to decide whether the giant component is robust under random removal of edges. We also determine asymptotically the size of the giant component and the empirical distribution of component sizes in terms of the survival probability and size distribution of a multitype branching random walk associated with f.
Preferential attachment probabilities scheme appear in the context of scale free random graphs [1],[2]. In this work we present preferential attachment probabilities scheme as a sequence of dependent Bernoulli random variables and we give an explicit expression of the transition probabilities.
We prove almost sure convergence of the maximum degree in an evolving graph model combining a growing number of local choices with sublinear preferential attachment. At each step in the growth of the graph, a new vertex is introduced. Then we draw a random number of edges from it to existing vertices, chosen independently by the following rule. For each edge, we consider a sample of the growing size of vertices chosen with probabilities proportional to the sublinear function of their degrees. Then new vertex attaches to the vertex with the highest degree from the sample. Depending on the growt…
We consider linear preferential attachment trees which are specific scale-free trees also known as (random) plane-oriented recursive trees. Starting with a linear preferential attachment tree of size $n$ we show that repeatedly applying a so-called lifting yields a continuous-time Markov chain on linear preferential attachment trees. Each such tree induces a partition of $\{1, \ldots, n\}$ by placing labels in the same block if and only if they are attached to the same node in the tree. Our main result is that this Markov chain on linear preferential attachment trees induces a partition valued…
Preferential attachment is a widely adopted paradigm for understanding the dynamics of social networks. Formal statistical inference,for instance GLM techniques, and model verification methods will require knowing test statistics are asymptotically normal even though node or count based network data is nothing like classical data from independently replicated experiments. We therefore study asymptotic normality of degree counts for a sequence of growing simple undirected preferential attachment graphs. The methods of proof rely on identifying martingales and then exploiting the martingale cent…
Graph symmetries intervene in diverse applications, from enumeration, to graph structure compression, to the discovery of graph dynamics (e.g., node arrival order inference). Whereas Erdős-Rényi graphs are typically asymmetric, real networks are highly symmetric. So a natural question is whether preferential attachment graphs, where in each step a new node with $m$ edges is added, exhibit any symmetry. In recent work it was proved that preferential attachment graphs are symmetric for $m=1$, and there is some non-negligible probability of symmetry for $m=2$. It was conjectured that these graphs…
We consider preferential attachment random graphs which may be obtained as follows: It starts with a single node. If a new node appears, it is linked by an edge to one or more existing node(s) with a probability proportional to function of their degree. For a class of linear preferential attachment random graphs we find a large deviation principle (LDP) for the empirical degree measure. In the course of the prove this LDP we establish an LDP for the empirical degree and pair distribution see Theorem 2.3, of the fitness preferential attachment model of random graphs.
We investigate two asymptotic properties of a spatial preferential-attachment model introduced by E. Jacob and P. Mörters (2013). First, in a regime of strong linear reinforcement, we show that typical distances are at most of doubly-logarithmic order. Second, we derive a large deviation principle for the empirical neighbourhood structure and express the rate function as solution to an entropy minimisation problem in the space of stationary marked point processes.
For a family of linear preferential attachment graphs, we provide rates of convergence for the total variation distance between the degree of a randomly chosen vertex and an appropriate power law distribution as the number of vertices tends to infinity. Our proof uses a new formulation of Stein's method for the negative binomial distribution, which stems from a distributional transformation that has the negative binomial distributions as the only fixed points.
Abel-Tauberian theorems relate power law behavior of distributions and their transforms. We formulate and prove a multivariate version for non-standard regularly varying measures on $\mathbb{R}_+^p$ and then apply it to prove that the joint distribution of in- and out-degree in a directed edge preferential attachement model has jointly regularly varying tails.
We consider the random walk attachment graph introduced by Saramäki and Kaski and proposed as a mechanism to explain how behaviour similar to preferential attachment may appear requiring only local knowledge. We show that if the length of the random walk is fixed then the resulting graphs can have properties significantly different from those of preferential attachment graphs, and in particular that in the case where the random walks are of length 1 and each new vertex attaches to a single existing vertex the proportion of vertices which have degree 1 tends to 1, in contrast to preferential at…
We extend the work of Antunović, Mossel and Rácz on competing types in preferential attachment models to include cases where the types have different fitnesses, which may be either multiplicative or additive. We will show that, depending on the values of the parameters of the models, there are different possible limiting behaviours depending on the zeros of a certain function. In particular we will show the existence of choices of the parameters where one type is favoured both by having higher fitness and by the type attachment mechanism, but the other type has a positive probability of domina…
We give an explicit construction of the weak local limit of a class of preferential attachment graphs. This limit contains all local information and allows several computations that are otherwise hard, for example, joint degree distributions and, more generally, the limiting distribution of subgraphs in balls of any given radius $k$ around a random vertex in the preferential attachment graph. We also establish the finite-volume corrections which give the approach to the limit.
We investigate the degree sequences of geometric preferential attachment graphs in general compact metric spaces. We show that, under certain conditions on the attractiveness function, the behaviour of the degree sequence is similar to that of the preferential attachment with multiplicative fitness models investigated by Borgs et al. When the metric space is finite, the degree distribution at each point of the space converges to a degree distribution which is an asymptotic power law whose index depends on the chosen point. For infinite metric spaces, we can show that for vertices in a Borel su…
We study fringe subtrees of random $ m $-ary search trees and of preferential attachment trees, by putting them in the context of generalised Pólya urns. In particular we show that for the random $ m $-ary search trees with $ m\leq 26 $ and for the linear preferential attachment trees, the number of fringe subtrees that are isomorphic to an arbitrary fixed tree $ T $ converges to a normal distribution; more generally, we also prove multivariate normal distribution results for random vectors of such numbers for different fringe subtrees. Furthermore, we show that the number of protected nodes i…
A vertex of a randomly growing graph is called a persistent hub if at all but finitely many moments of time it has the maximal degree in the graph. We establish the existence of a persistent hub in the Barabási--Albert random graph model with probability one. We also extend this result to the class of convex preferential attachment graphs, where a vertex of degree $k$ gets a new edge with probability proportional to some convex function of $k$.
In this paper, we analyze the local clustering coefficient of preferential attachment models. A general approach to preferential attachment was introduced in earlier, where a wide class of models (PA-class) was defined in terms of constraints that are sufficient for the study of the degree distribution and the clustering coefficient. It was previously shown that the degree distribution in all models of the PA-class follows a power law. Also, the global clustering coefficient was analyzed and a lower bound for the average local clustering coefficient was obtained. We expand the results by analy…
We study the number of isolated vertices in a preferential attachment random graph introduced by Dereich and Mörters in 2009. In this graph model vertices are added over time and newly arriving vertices connect to older ones with probability proportional to a (sub-)linear function of the indegree of the older vertex at that time. Using Stein's method and a size-bias coupling, we deduce bounds in the Wasserstein distance between the law of the properly rescaled number of isolated vertices and a standard Gaussian distribution.
We study logical limit laws for preferential attachment random graphs. In this random graph model, vertices and edges are introduced recursively: at time $1$, we start with vertices $0,1$ and $m$ edges between them. At step $n+1$ the vertex $n+1$ is introduced together with $m$ edges joining the new vertex with $m$ vertices chosen from $1,\ldots,n$ independently with probabilities proportional to their degrees plus a positive parameter $δ$. We prove that this random graph obeys the convergence law for first-order sentences with at most $m-2$ variables.
We consider the contact process on the preferential attachment graph. The work of Berger, Borgs, Chayes and Saberi [BBCS1] confirmed physicists predictions that the contact process starting from a typical vertex becomes endemic for an arbitrarily small infection rate $λ$ with positive probability. More precisely, they showed that with probability $λ^{Θ(1)}$, it survives for a time exponential in the largest degree. Here we obtain sharp bounds for the density of infected sites at a time close to exponential in the number of vertices (up to some logarithmic factor).
For the directed edge preferential attachment network growth model studied by Bollobas et al. (2003) and Krapivsky and Redner (2001), we prove that the joint distribution of in-degree and out-degree has jointly regularly varying tails. Typically the marginal tails of the in-degree distribution and the out-degree distribution have different regular variation indices and so the joint regular variation is non-standard. Only marginal regular variation has been previously established for this distribution in the cases where the marginal tail indices are different.
We find assimpotics for the first $k$ highest degrees of the degree distribution in an evolving tree model combining the local choice and the preferential attachment. In the considered model, the random graph is constructd in the following way. At each step, a new vertex is introduced. Then, we connect it with one (the vertex with the largest degree is chosen) of $d$ ($d>2$) possible neighbors, which are sampled from the set of the existing vertices with the probability proportional to their degrees. It is known that the maximum of the degree distribution in this model has linear behavior. We …
We introduce a new model of preferential attachment with fitness, and establish a time reversed duality between the model and a system of branching-coalescing particles. Using this duality, we give a clear and concise explanation for the condensation phenomenon, in which unusually fit vertices may obtain abnormally high degree: it arises from a growth-extinction dichotomy within the branching part of the dual. We show further that the condensation is extensive. As the graph grows, unusually fit vertices become, each only for a limited time, neighbouring to a non-vanishing proportion of the cur…
A version of ``preferential attachment'' random graphs, corresponding to linear ``weights'' with random ``edge additions,'' which generalizes some previously considered models, is studied. This graph model is embedded in a continuous-time branching scheme and, using the branching process apparatus, several results on the graph model asymptotics are obtained, some extending previous results, such as growth rates for a typical degree and the maximal degree, behavior of the vertex where the maximal degree is attained, and a law of large numbers for the empirical distribution of degrees which show…
In this paper we investigate geometric properties of graphs generated by a preferential attachment random graph model with edge-steps. More precisely, at each time $t\in\mathbb{N}$, with probability $p$ a new vertex is added to the graph (a vertex-step occurs) or with probability $1-p$ an edge connecting two existent vertices is added (an edge-step occurs). We prove that the global clustering coefficient decays as $t^{-γ(p)}$ for a positive function $γ$ of $p$. We also prove that the clique number of these graphs is, up to sub-polynomially small factors, of order~$t^{(1-p)/(2-p)}$.
We consider linear preferential attachment random trees with additive fitness, where fitness is defined as the random initial vertex attractiveness. We show that when the fitness distribution has positive bounded support, the weak local limit of this family can be constructed using a sequence of mixed Poisson point processes. We also provide a rate of convergence of the total variation distance between the r- neighbourhood of the uniformly chosen vertex in the preferential attachment tree and that of the root vertex of its weak local limit. We apply the theorem to obtain the limiting degree di…
We consider a general preferential attachment model, where the probability that a newly arriving vertex connects to an older vertex is proportional to a sublinear function of the indegree of the older vertex at that time. It is well known that the distribution of a uniformly chosen vertex converges to a limiting distribution. Depending on the parameters, this model can show power law, but also stretched exponential behaviour. Using Stein's method we provide rates of convergence for the total variation distance. Our proof uses the fact that the limiting distribution is the stationary distributi…
We characterize the tail behavior of the distribution of the PageRank of a uniformly chosen vertex in a directed preferential attachment graph and show that it decays as a power law with an explicit exponent that is described in terms of the model parameters. Interestingly, this power law is heavier than the tail of the limiting in-degree distribution, which goes against the commonly accepted {\em power law hypothesis}. This deviation from the power law hypothesis points at the structural differences between the inbound neighborhoods of typical vertices in a preferential attachment graph versu…
A multi-type preferential attachment tree is introduced, and studied using general multi-type branching processes. For the $p$-type case we derive a framework for studying the tree where a type $i$ vertex generates new type $j$ vertices with rate $w_{ij}(n_1,n_2,\ldots, n_p)$ where $n_k$ is the number of type $k$ vertices previously generated by the type $i$ vertex, and $w_{ij}$ is a non-negative function from $\mathbb{N}^p$ to $\mathbb{R}$. The framework is then used to derive results for trees with more specific attachment rates. In the case with linear preferential attachment---where type $…
We consider the degree distributions of preferential attachment random graph models with choice similar to those considered in recent work by Malyshkin and Paquette and Krapivsky and Redner. In these models a new vertex chooses $r$ vertices according to a preferential rule and connects to the vertex in the selection with the $s$th highest degree. For meek choice, where $s>1$, we show that both double exponential decay of the degree distribution and condensation-like behaviour are possible, and provide a criterion to distinguish between them. For greedy choice, where $s=1$, we confirm that the …
Preferential attachment is widely used to model power-law behavior of degree distributions in both directed and undirected networks. Practical analyses on the tail exponent of the power-law degree distribution use the Hill estimator as one of the key summary statistics, whose consistency is justified mostly for iid data. The major goal in this paper is to answer the question whether the Hill estimator is still consistent when applied to non-iid network data. To do this, we first derive the asymptotic behavior of the degree sequence via embedding the degree growth of a fixed node into a birth i…
Regular variation of a multivariate measure with a Lebesgue density implies the regular variation of its density provided the density satisfies some regularity conditions. Unlike the univariate case, the converse also requires regularity conditions. We extend these arguments to discrete mass functions and their associated measures using the concept that the the mass function can be embedded in a continuous density function. We give two different conditions, monotonicity and convergence on the unit sphere, both of which can make the discrete function embeddable. Our results are then applied to …
We deal with a general preferential attachment graph model with multiple type edges. The types are chosen randomly, in a way that depends on the evolution of the graph. In the $N$-type case, we define the (generalized) degree of a given vertex as $\boldsymbol{d}=(d_{1},d_{2},\dots,d_{N})$, where $d_{k}\in\mathbb{Z}_{0}^{+}$ is the number of type $k$ edges connected to it. We prove the existence of an a.s.\ asymptotic degree distribution for a general family of preferential attachment random graph models with multi-type edges. More precisely, we show that the proportion of vertices with (genera…
The directed preferential attachment model is revisited. A new exact characterization of the limiting in- and out-degree distribution is given by two \emph{independent} pure birth processes that are observed at a common exponentially distributed time $T$ (thus creating dependence between in- and out-degree). The characterization gives an explicit form for the joint degree distribution, and this confirms previously derived tail probabilities for the two marginal degree distributions. The new characterization is also used to obtain an explicit expression for tail probabilities in which both degr…
Preferential attachment is widely used to model power-law behavior of degree distributions in both directed and undirected networks. In a directed preferential attachment model, despite the well-known marginal power-law degree distributions, not much investigation has been done on the joint behavior of the in- and out-degree growth. Also, statistical estimates of the marginal tail exponent of the power-law degree distribution often use the Hill estimator as one of the key summary statistics, even though no theoretical justification has been given. This paper focuses on convergence of the joint…
We study the joint degree counts in proportional attachment random graphs and find a simple representation for the limit distribution in infinite sequence space. We show weak convergence with respect to the p-norm topology for appropriate p and also provide optimal rates of convergence of the finite dimensional distributions. The results hold for models with any general initial seed graph and any fixed number of initial outgoing edges per vertex; we generate non-tree graphs using both a lumping and a sequential rule. Convergence of the order statistics and optimal rates of convergence to the m…
We study randomly growing trees governed by the affine preferential attachment rule. Starting with a seed tree $S$, vertices are attached one by one, each linked by an edge to a random vertex of the current tree, chosen with a probability proportional to an affine function of its degree. This yields a one-parameter family of preferential attachment trees $(T_n^S)_{n\geq|S|}$, of which the linear model is a particular case. Depending on the choice of the parameter, the power-laws governing the degrees in $T_n^S$ have different exponents. We study the problem of the asymptotic influence of the s…
Complex networks in different areas exhibit degree distributions with heavy upper tail. A preferential attachment mechanism in a growth process produces a graph with this feature. We herein investigate a variant of the simple preferential attachment model, whose modifications are interesting for two main reasons: to analyze more realistic models and to study the robustness of the scale free behavior of the degree distribution. We introduce and study a model which takes into account two different attachment rules: a preferential attachment mechanism (with probability 1-p) that stresses the rich…
The preferential attachment network with fitness is a dynamic random graph model. New vertices are introduced consecutively and a new vertex is attached to an old vertex with probability proportional to the degree of the old one multiplied by a random fitness. We concentrate on the typical behaviour of the graph by calculating the fitness distribution of a vertex chosen proportional to its degree. For a particular variant of the model, this analysis was first carried out by Borgs, Chayes, Daskalakis and Roch. However, we present a new method, which is robust in the sense that it does not depen…
We study an asymptotical behavior of the maximal degree in the degree distribution in an evolving tree model combining the local choice and the Mori's preferential attachment. In the considered model, the random graph is constructed in the following way. At each step, a new vertex is introduced. Then, we connect it with one (the vertex with the largest degree is chosen) of $d$ (for random $d$) possible neighbors, which are sampled from the set of the existing vertices with the probability proportional to their degrees plus some parameter $β>-1$. It is known that the maximum of the degree distr…
The configuration model is the most natural model to generate a random multigraph with a given degree sequence. We use the notion of dense graph limits to characterize the special form of limit objects of convergent sequences of configuration models. We apply these results to calculate the limit object corresponding to the dense preferential attachment graph and the edge reconnecting model. Our main tools in doing so are (1) the relation between the theory of graph limits and that of partially exchangeable random arrays (2) an explicit construction of our random graphs that uses urn models.
We consider linear preferential attachment trees, and show that they can be regarded as random split trees in the sense of Devroye (1999), although with infinite potential branching. In particular, this applies to the random recursive tree and the standard preferential attachment tree. An application is given to the sum over all pairs of nodes of the common number of ancestors.
Preferential attachment models form a popular class of growing networks, where incoming vertices are preferably connected to vertices with high degree. We consider a variant of this process, where vertices are equipped with a random initial fitness representing initial inhomogeneities among vertices and the fitness influences the attractiveness of a vertex in an additive way. We consider a heavy-tailed fitness distribution and show that the model exhibits a phase transition depending on the tail exponent of the fitness distribution. In the weak disorder regime, one of the old vertices has maxi…
Preferential attachment networks are a type of random network where new nodes are connected to existing ones at random, and are more likely to connect to those that already have many connections. We investigate further a family of models introduced by Antunović, Mossel and Rácz where each vertex in a preferential attachment graph is assigned a type, based on the types of its neighbours. Instances of this type of process where the proportions of each type present do not converge over time seem to be rare. Previous work found that a "rock-paper-scissors" setup where each new node's type was dete…
We provide optimal rates of convergence to the asymptotic distribution of the (properly scaled) degree of a fixed vertex in two preferential attachment random graph models. Our approach is to show that these distributions are unique fixed points of certain distributional transformations which allows us to obtain rates of convergence using a new variation of Stein's method. Despite the large literature on these models, there is surprisingly little known about the limiting distributions so we also provide some properties and new representations, including an explicit expression for the densities…
We study two models of growing recursive trees. For both models, initially the tree only contains one vertex $u_1$ and at each time $n\geq 2$ a new vertex $u_n$ is added to the tree and its parent is chosen randomly according to some rule. In the \emph{weighted recursive tree}, we choose the parent $u_k$ of $u_n$ among $\{u_1,u_2,\dots, u_{n-1}\}$ with probability proportional to $w_k$, where $(w_n)_{n\geq1}$ is some deterministic sequence that we fix beforehand. In the \emph{affine preferential attachment tree with fitnesses}, the probability of choosing any $u_k$ is proportional to $a_k+\mat…
Continuous-time branching processes describe the evolution of a population whose individuals generate a random number of children according to a birth process. Such branching processes can be used to understand preferential attachment models in which the birth rates are linear functions. We are motivated by citation networks, where power-law citation counts are observed as well as aging in the citation patterns. To model this, we introduce fitness and age-dependence in these birth processes. The multiplicative fitness moderates the rate at which children are born, while the aging is integrable…
