Log-periodic oscillations due to discrete effects in complex networks

Abstract

We show that discretization of internode distribution in complex networks affects internode distances l_ij calculated as a function of degrees (k_i k_j) and an average path length <l> as function of network size N. For dense networks there are log-periodic oscillations of above quantities. We present real-world examples of such a behavior as well as we derive analytical expressions and compare them to numerical simulations. We consider a simple case of network optimization problem, arguing that discrete effects can lead to a nontrivial solution.