Criticality and universality in network dismantling

2026-08-27

AI Summary

研究通过引入自适应偏置渗流过程，解决网络拆解过程中结构连通性受节点或边移除影响的问题，发现该过程在不同度分布的网络中表现出普遍相变。

Abstract

Identifying the smallest set of elements whose removal dismantle a complex network, known as the network dismantling problem, is a fundamental task with many practical applications. Whereas network dismantling has been extensively studied over the past decade, most work has focused on developing efficient algorithms for large but finite networks. By contrast, the physics of the network dismantling process, namely how the network structural connectivity is affected by the removal of nodes or edges, remains largely unexplored in the thermodynamic limit. Here, we shed light on this understudied aspect of network dismantling by introducing an adaptive biased percolation process able to optimally dismantle a network. Through a systematic analysis of synthetic network models, we find that the proposed percolation process displays a universal phase transition, characterized by the abrupt and simultaneous disappearance of both the giant connected component and the largest 2-core, across networks with markedly different degree distributions. Simulations on real networks further support this universality, indicating that the physics of network dismantling is insensitive to a broad range of topological properties. Together, these results suggest that a topology-agnostic theory could be developed to explain the critical behavior of network dismantling.

Problem

• network dismantling
• structural connectivity
• thermodynamic limit
• phase transition
• universal behavior

Innovation

• adaptive biased percolation
• universal phase transition
• network dismantling