Regulation of burstiness by network-driven activation

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how complex networks can regulate and buffer fluctuations in activity, showing that network-driven dynamics influence burstiness in various systems, from communication to biological processes.

Contribution

It reveals that network interactions can control burstiness levels in node activity, including the induction of burstiness in non-bursty nodes, and highlights the differential controllability of hubs versus low-degree nodes.

Findings

Network-driven activation can regulate burstiness in node production.

Hubs are less controllable than low-degree nodes.

Burstiness can be induced even in non-bursty nodes.

Abstract

We prove that complex networks of interactions have the capacity to regulate and buffer unpredictable fluctuations in production events. We show that non-bursty network-driven activation dynamics can effectively regulate the level of burstiness in the production of nodes, which can be enhanced or reduced. Burstiness can be induced even when the endogenous inter-event time distribution of nodes' production is non-bursty. We found that hubs tend to be less controllable than low degree nodes, which are more susceptible to the networked regulatory effects. Our results have important implications for the analysis and engineering of bursty activity in a range of systems, from telecommunication networks to transcription and translation of genes into proteins in cells.