Assortative mixing in networks

Phys Rev Lett. 2002 Nov 11;89(20):208701. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.208701. Epub 2002 Oct 28.

Abstract

A network is said to show assortative mixing if the nodes in the network that have many connections tend to be connected to other nodes with many connections. Here we measure mixing patterns in a variety of networks and find that social networks are mostly assortatively mixed, but that technological and biological networks tend to be disassortative. We propose a model of an assortatively mixed network, which we study both analytically and numerically. Within this model we find that networks percolate more easily if they are assortative and that they are also more robust to vertex removal.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Computer Communication Networks
  • Humans
  • Models, Biological*
  • Models, Theoretical*
  • Social Support