Tree Networks with Causal Structure

Abstract

Geometry of networks endowed with a causal structure is discussed using the conventional framework of equilibrium statistical mechanics. The popular growing network models appear as particular causal models. We focus on a class of tree graphs, an analytically solvable case. General formulae are derived, describing the degree distribution, the ancestor-descendant correlation and the probability a randomly chosen node lives at a given geodesic distance from the root. It is shown that the Hausdorff dimension $d_H$ of the causal networks is generically infinite, in contrast to the maximally random trees, where it is generically finite.