Comparison of mean-field based theoretical analysis methods for SIS model

TL;DR

This paper compares various mean-field theoretical methods for the SIS epidemic model, clarifying their differences and underlying reasons to improve future epidemic modeling accuracy.

Contribution

It systematically analyzes and explains the differences between mean-field equations across network types, enhancing understanding of epidemic modeling.

Findings

Differences in mean-field equations stem from varied infection probability considerations.

The analysis clarifies the impact of network structure on mean-field solutions.

Insights will guide the development of more accurate epidemic models.

Abstract

Epidemic spreading has been intensively studied in SIS epidemic model. Although the mean-field theory of SIS model has been widely used in the research, there is a lack of comparative results between different theoretical calculations, and the differences between them should be systematically explained. In this paper, we have compared different theoretical solutions for mean-field theory and explained the underlying reason. We first describe the differences between different equations for mean-field theory in different networks. The results show that the difference between mean-field reaction equations is due to the different probability consideration for the infection process. This finding will help us to design better theoretical solutions for epidemic models.