Scale-free homophilic network

Abstract

An important aspect governing the growth of complex networks is homophily, which is defined as the tendency of sites to link with others which are similar to themselves. Here, we modify the preferential attachment from Barabasi-Albert model by including a homophilic term. Comparisons are made with the Barabasi-Albert model, fitness model and our present model considering its topological properties: degree distribution, time dependence of the connectivity, shortest path length and clustering coefficient. We verify the existence of a region where the characteristics of sites play an important role in the rate of gaining links as well as in the number of links between sites with similar and dissimilar characteristics.