Statistical Mechanics of Long Walks in Dynamic Complex Networks: Statistical Arguments for Diversifying Selection

Abstract

We study the thermodynamic limit of very long walks on finite, connected, non-random graphs subject to possible random modifications and transportation capacity noise. As walks might represent the chains of interactions between system units, statistical mechanics of very long walks may be used to quantify the structural properties important for the dynamics of processes defined in networks. Networks open to random structural modifications are characterized by a Fermi–Dirac distribution of node’s fugacity in the framework of grand canonical ensemble of walks. The same distribution appears as the unique stationary solution of a discrete Fokker–Planck equation describing the time evolution of probability distribution of stochastic processes in networks. Nodes of inferior centrality are the most likely candidates for the future structural changes in the network.