Random Hyperbolic Graphs: Degree Sequence and Clustering

TL;DR

This paper rigorously analyzes random hyperbolic graphs, confirming they exhibit power-law degree distributions and high clustering, making them suitable models for real-world networks.

Contribution

It provides the first rigorous mathematical analysis of random hyperbolic graphs, including degree distribution and clustering properties.

Findings

Degree sequence follows a power-law distribution.

Clustering coefficient is bounded away from zero.

Expected degree counts and deviation probabilities are derived.

Abstract

In the last decades, the study of models for large real-world networks has been a very popular and active area of research. A reasonable model should not only replicate all the structural properties that are observed in real world networks (for example, heavy tailed degree distributions, high clustering and small diameter), but it should also be amenable to mathematical analysis. There are plenty of models that succeed in the first task but are hard to analyze rigorously. On the other hand, a multitude of proposed models, like classical random graphs, can be studied mathematically, but fail in creating certain aspects that are observed in real-world networks. Recently, Papadopoulos, Krioukov, Boguna and Vahdat [INFOCOM'10] introduced a random geometric graph model that is based on hyperbolic geometry. The authors argued empirically and by some preliminary mathematical analysis that the resulting graphs have many of the desired properties. Moreover, by computing explicitly a maximum likelihood fit of the Internet graph, they demonstrated impressively that this model is adequate for reproducing the structure of real graphs with high accuracy. In this work we initiate the rigorous study of random hyperbolic graphs. We compute exact asymptotic expressions for the expected number of vertices of degree k for all k up to the maximum degree and provide small probabilities for large deviations. We also prove a constant lower bound for the clustering coefficient. In particular, our findings confirm rigorously that the degree sequence follows a power-law distribution with controllable exponent and that the clustering is nonvanishing.