Two-dimensional small-world networks: navigation with local information

TL;DR

This paper investigates navigation efficiency on a variant of small-world networks with local information, revealing how the distribution of long-range links affects path lengths and the emergence of small-world effects.

Contribution

It introduces a model with probabilistic long-range links decaying as a power law and analyzes how local knowledge influences navigation on small-world networks.

Findings

Small-world effect occurs for certain decay exponents when pL > 1.

Scaling relations hold for alpha < 3, except at alpha=2 and 3.

Path length behavior varies with the decay exponent alpha.

Abstract

Navigation process is studied on a variant of the Watts-Strogatz small world network model embedded on a square lattice. With probability $p$, each vertex sends out a long range link, and the probability of the other end of this link falling on a vertex at lattice distance $r$ away decays as $ r^{-\alpha}$. Vertices on the network have knowledge of only their nearest neighbors. In a navigation process, messages are forwarded to a designated target. For $\alpha <3$ and $\alpha \neq 2$, a scaling relation is found between the average actual path length and $pL$, where $L$ is the average length of the additional long range links. Given $pL>1$, dynamic small world effect is observed, and the behavior of the scaling function at large enough $pL$ is obtained. At $\alpha =2$ and 3, this kind of scaling breaks down, and different functions of the average actual path length are obtained. For $\alpha >3$, the average actual path length is nearly linear with network size.