Degree-distribution stability of scale-free networks

Abstract

Based on the concept and techniques of first-passage probability in Markov chain theory, this letter provides a rigorous proof for the existence of the steady-state degree distribution of the scale-free network generated by the Barabasi-Albert (BA) model, and mathematically re-derives the exact analytic formulas of the distribution. The approach developed here is quite general, applicable to many other scale-free types of complex networks.