title: The rise and fall of a networked society: a formal model.
abstract: In a well networked community, there is intense social interaction, and information disseminates briskly and broadly. This is important if the environment is volatile (i.e., keeps changing) and individuals never stop searching for fresh opportunities. Here, we present a simple model that attributes the rise of a dynamic society to the emergence of some key features in its social network. We also explain the apparently paradoxical observation that although such features do not necessarily materialize even under favorable conditions they display a significant resilience to deteriorating conditions. We interpret these findings as a discontinuous phase transition in the network formation process.
authors.affiliation: The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Strada Costiera 11, 34014 Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marsili
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vega-Redondo
authors.forename: Frantisek
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Slanina