Abstract
We introduce the concept of the boundary of a complex network as the set of nodes at distance larger than the mean distance from a given node in the network. We study the statistical properties of the boundary nodes seen from a given node of complex networks. We find that for both Erdős-Rényi and scale-free model networks, as well as for several real networks, the boundaries have fractal properties. In particular, the number of boundaries nodes B follows a power law probability density function which scales as B-2. The clusters formed by the boundary nodes seen from a given node are fractals with a fractal dimension df≈2. We present analytical and numerical evidences supporting these results for a broad class of networks.
| Original language | American English |
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| Journal | Europhysics Letters: a letters journal exploring the frontiers of physics |
| Volume | 84 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| State | Published - 2008 |