Geography in a Scale-Free Network Model

Abstract

We offer an example of an network model with a power law degree distribution, P(k) ~ k^{-alpha}, for nodes but which nevertheless has a well-defined geography and a nonzero threshold percolation probability for alpha>2, the range of real-world contact networks. This is different from the p_c=0 for alpha<3 results for well-mixed scale-free networks. In our lattice-based scale-free network, individuals link to nearby neighbors on a lattice. Even considerable additional small-world links do not change our conclusion of nonzero thresholds. When applied to disease propagation, these results suggest that random immunization may be more successful in controlling human epidemics than previously suggested if there is geographical clustering.