Robustness of scale-free networks to cascading failures induced by fluctuating loads

TL;DR

This paper investigates how scale-free networks withstand cascading failures caused by fluctuating loads, revealing they are more robust than Erdős-Rényi networks, contrary to previous beliefs that ignored load fluctuations.

Contribution

The study introduces a model considering load fluctuations via random walkers and demonstrates the increased robustness of scale-free networks against overload failures.

Findings

Scale-free networks are more robust than Erdős-Rényi networks under load fluctuations.

Load fluctuations significantly influence network robustness.

Previous models underestimated the resilience of scale-free networks.

Abstract

Taking into account the fact that overload failures in real-world functional networks are usually caused by extreme values of temporally fluctuating loads that exceed the allowable range, we study the robustness of scale-free networks against cascading overload failures induced by fluctuating loads. In our model, loads are described by random walkers moving on a network and a node fails when the number of walkers on the node is beyond the node capacity. Our results obtained by using the generating function method shows that scale-free networks are more robust against cascading overload failures than Erd\H{o}s-R\'enyi random graphs with homogeneous degree distributions. This conclusion is contrary to that predicted by previous works which neglect the effect of fluctuations of loads.