Evolving networks

Evolving Networks are networks that change as a function of time. They are a natural extension of network science since almost all real world networks evolve over time, either by adding or removing nodes or links over time. Often all of these processes occur simultaneously, such as in social networks where people make and lose friends over time, thereby creating and destroying edges, and some people become part of new social networks or leave their networks, changing the nodes in the network. Evolving network concepts build on established network theory and are now being introduced into studying networks in many diverse fields.

The study of networks traces its foundations to the development of graph theory, which was first analyzed by Leonhard Euler in 1736 when he wrote the famous Seven Bridges of Königsberg paper. Probabilistic network theory then developed with the help of eight famous papers studying random graphs written by Paul Erdős and Alfréd Rényi. The Erdős-Rényi model (ER) supposes that a graph is composed of N labeled nodes where each pair of nodes is connected by a preset probability p.

While the ER model's simplicity has helped it find many applications, it does not accurately describe many real world networks. The ER model fails to generate local clustering and triadic closures as often as they are found in real world networks. Therefore, the Watts and Strogatz model was proposed, whereby a network is constructed as a regular ring lattice, and then nodes are rewired according to some probability β. This produces a locally clustered network and dramatically reduces the average path length, creating networks which represent the small world phenomenon observed in many real world networks.

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