Traffic-driven epidemic spreading on scale-free networks with tunable degree distribution

Abstract

We study the traffic-driven epidemic spreading on scale-free networks with tunable degree distribution. The heterogeneity of networks is controlled by the exponent $\gamma$ of power-law degree distribution. It is found that the epidemic threshold is minimized at about $\gamma=2.2$. Moreover, we find that nodes with larger algorithmic betweenness are more likely to be infected. We expect our work to provide new insights into the effect of network structures on traffic-driven epidemic spreading.