Networks based on collisions among mobile agents

We investigate in detail a recent model of colliding mobile agents [M.C. Gonzلlez, P.G. Lind, H.J. Herrmann, Phys. Rev. Lett. 96 (2006) 088702. cond-mat/0602091], used as an alternative approach for constructing evolving networks of interactions formed by collisions governed by suitable dynamical rules. The system of mobile agents evolves towards a quasi-stationary state which is, apart from small fluctuations, well characterized by the density of the system and the residence time of the agents. The residence time defines a collision rate, and by varying this collision rate, the system percolates at a critical value, with the emergence of a giant cluster whose critical exponents are the ones of two-dimensional percolation. Further, the degree and clustering coefficient distributions, and the average path length, show that the network associated with such a system presents non-trivial features which, depending on the collision rules, enables one not only to recover the main properties of standard networks, such as exponential, random and scale-free networks, but also to obtain other topological structures. To illustrate, we show a specific example where the obtained structure has topological features which characterize the structure and evolution of social networks accurately in different contexts, ranging from networks of acquaintances to networks of sexual contacts.