Accuracy of discrete- and continuous-time mean-field theories for epidemic processes on complex networks

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Auteurs principaux: Silva, Diogo H., Rodrigues, Francisco A., Ferreira, Silvio C.
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2024
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author Silva, Diogo H.
Rodrigues, Francisco A.
Ferreira, Silvio C.
author_facet Silva, Diogo H.
Rodrigues, Francisco A.
Ferreira, Silvio C.
contents Discrete- and continuous-time approaches are frequently used to model the role of heterogeneity on dynamical interacting agents on the top of complex networks. While, on the one hand, one does not expect drastic differences between these approaches, and the choice is usually based on one's expertise or methodological convenience, on the other hand, a detailed analysis of the differences is necessary to guide the proper choice of one or another approach. We tackle this problem, by comparing both discrete- and continuous-time mean-field theories for the susceptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) epidemic model on random networks with power-law degree distributions. We compare the discrete epidemic link equations (ELE) and continuous pair quenched mean-field (PQMF) theories with the corresponding stochastic simulations, both theories that reckon pairwise interactions explicitly. We show that ELE converges to PQMF theory when the time step goes to zero. The epidemic localization analysis performed reckoning the inverse participation ratio (IPR) indicates that both theories present the same localization depence on the network degree exponent $γ$: for $γ<5/2$ the epidemic is localized on the maximum k-core of network with a vanishing in the infinite-size limit while for $γ>5/2$, the localization happens on hubs what leads to a finite value of IPR. However, the IPR and epidemic threshold of ELE depend on the time-step discretization such that a larger time-step leads to more localized epidemics. A remarkable difference between discrete and continuous time approaches is revealed in the epidemic prevalence near the epidemic threshold, in which the discrete-time stochastic simulations indicate a mean-field critical exponent $θ=1$ instead of the value $θ=1/(3-γ)$ obtained rigorously and verified numerically for the continuous-time SIS on the same networks.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2402_10166
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Accuracy of discrete- and continuous-time mean-field theories for epidemic processes on complex networks
Silva, Diogo H.
Rodrigues, Francisco A.
Ferreira, Silvio C.
Physics and Society
Statistical Mechanics
Discrete- and continuous-time approaches are frequently used to model the role of heterogeneity on dynamical interacting agents on the top of complex networks. While, on the one hand, one does not expect drastic differences between these approaches, and the choice is usually based on one's expertise or methodological convenience, on the other hand, a detailed analysis of the differences is necessary to guide the proper choice of one or another approach. We tackle this problem, by comparing both discrete- and continuous-time mean-field theories for the susceptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) epidemic model on random networks with power-law degree distributions. We compare the discrete epidemic link equations (ELE) and continuous pair quenched mean-field (PQMF) theories with the corresponding stochastic simulations, both theories that reckon pairwise interactions explicitly. We show that ELE converges to PQMF theory when the time step goes to zero. The epidemic localization analysis performed reckoning the inverse participation ratio (IPR) indicates that both theories present the same localization depence on the network degree exponent $γ$: for $γ<5/2$ the epidemic is localized on the maximum k-core of network with a vanishing in the infinite-size limit while for $γ>5/2$, the localization happens on hubs what leads to a finite value of IPR. However, the IPR and epidemic threshold of ELE depend on the time-step discretization such that a larger time-step leads to more localized epidemics. A remarkable difference between discrete and continuous time approaches is revealed in the epidemic prevalence near the epidemic threshold, in which the discrete-time stochastic simulations indicate a mean-field critical exponent $θ=1$ instead of the value $θ=1/(3-γ)$ obtained rigorously and verified numerically for the continuous-time SIS on the same networks.
title Accuracy of discrete- and continuous-time mean-field theories for epidemic processes on complex networks
topic Physics and Society
Statistical Mechanics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.10166