Time evolution of link length distribution in PRL collaboration network

Abstract

An important aspect of a Euclidean network is its link length distribution, studied in a few real networks so far. We compute the distribution of the link lengths between collaborators whose papers appear in the PhysicalReview Letters (PRL) in several years within a range of four decades. The distribution is non-monotonic; there is a peak at nearest neighbour distances followed by a sharp fall and a subsequent rise at larger distances. The behaviour of the statistical properties of the distribution with time indicates that collaborations might become distance independent in about thirty to forty years.