Localization and Spreading of Diseases in Complex Networks
By: João Oliveira
From: Universidade do Porto
At: Instituto de Investigação Interdisciplinar, Anfiteatro
[2013-02-05]
The susceptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) model is a simple paradigm for epidemic processes. We consider the disease localization phenomenon by using the SIS model on unweighted and weighted networks. In contrast to the well-recognized point of view that diseases infect a finite fraction of vertices right above the epidemic threshold, we show that diseases can be localized on a finite number of vertices, where hubs and edges with large weights are centers of localization. Our results follow from the analysis of standard models of networks and empirical data for real-world networks.