| This thesis uses concepts from statistical physics to understand the physics of flow in weighted complex networks. The traditional model for random networks is the Erdo&huml;s-Renyi (ER.) network, where a network of N nodes is created by connecting each of the N(N - 1)/2 pairs of nodes with a probability p. The degree distribution, which is the probability distribution of the number of links per node, is a Poisson distribution. Recent studies of the topology in many networks such as the Internet and the world-wide airport network (WAN) reveal a power law degree distribution, known as a scale-free (SF) distribution. To yield a better description of network dynamics, we study weighted networks, where each link or node is given a number. One asks how the weights affect the static and the dynamic properties of the network. In this thesis, two important dynamic problems are studied: the current flow problem, described by Kirchhoff's laws, and the maximum flow problem, which maximizes the flow between two nodes.; Percolation theory is applied to these studies of the dynamics in complex networks. We find that the current flow in disordered media belongs to the same universality class as the optimal path. In a randomly weighted network, we identify the infinite incipient percolation cluster as the "superhighway", which contains most of the traffic in a network. We propose an efficient strategy to improve significantly the global transport by improving the superhighways, which comprise a small fraction of the network. We also propose a network model with correlated weights to describe weighted networks such as the WAN. Our model agrees with WAN data, and provides insight into the advantages of correlated weights in networks. Lastly, the upper critical dimension is evaluated using two different numerical methods, and the result is consistent with the theoretical prediction. |
