Mean first-encounter times of simultaneous random walkers with resetting on networks

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Rubio-Gómez, Daniel, Riascos, Alejandro P., Mateos, José L.
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Rubio-Gómez, Daniel
Riascos, Alejandro P.
Mateos, José L.
author_facet Rubio-Gómez, Daniel
Riascos, Alejandro P.
Mateos, José L.
contents We investigate the dynamics of simultaneous random walkers with resetting on networks and derive exact analytical expressions for the mean first-encounter times of Markovian random walkers. Specifically, we consider two cases for the simultaneous dynamics of two random walkers on networks: when only one walker resets to the initial node, and when both walkers return to their initial positions. In both cases, the encounter times are expressed in terms of the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the transition matrix of the normal random walk, providing a spectral interpretation of the impact of resetting. We validate our approach through examples on rings, Cayley trees, and random networks generated using the Erdős-Rényi, Watts-Strogatz, and Barabási-Albert algorithms, where resetting significantly reduces encounter times. The proposed framework can be extended to other types of random walk dynamics, transport processes, or multiple-walker scenarios, with potential applications in human mobility, epidemic spreading, and search strategies in complex systems.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_05313
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Mean first-encounter times of simultaneous random walkers with resetting on networks
Rubio-Gómez, Daniel
Riascos, Alejandro P.
Mateos, José L.
Statistical Mechanics
We investigate the dynamics of simultaneous random walkers with resetting on networks and derive exact analytical expressions for the mean first-encounter times of Markovian random walkers. Specifically, we consider two cases for the simultaneous dynamics of two random walkers on networks: when only one walker resets to the initial node, and when both walkers return to their initial positions. In both cases, the encounter times are expressed in terms of the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the transition matrix of the normal random walk, providing a spectral interpretation of the impact of resetting. We validate our approach through examples on rings, Cayley trees, and random networks generated using the Erdős-Rényi, Watts-Strogatz, and Barabási-Albert algorithms, where resetting significantly reduces encounter times. The proposed framework can be extended to other types of random walk dynamics, transport processes, or multiple-walker scenarios, with potential applications in human mobility, epidemic spreading, and search strategies in complex systems.
title Mean first-encounter times of simultaneous random walkers with resetting on networks
topic Statistical Mechanics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.05313