Reformulating scale-free network via strong dependency

Abstract

Abstract In this article, we study the mechanism of generating a scale-free network using strong dependency between nodes. It is found that dependency should be aided by two key factors, namely, the reduced structure of network connections and small zero inflation. Our finding provides key conditions bridging the gap between the two groups having different opinions on scale-free networks. These groups include a camp of network scientists that consider scale-free networks as ideal objects in the large-size limit and the others that consider them as concrete objects in the real world.