Roles of edge weights on epidemic spreading dynamics

Epidemic spreading on complex networks has attracted much attention in recent years. A large number of studies have focused on investigating the impacts of network topology on spreading dynamics. However, the weighted network is very common in real systems, and we attempt to study the role of edge weights on epidemic spreading. In this work, the spreading process was presented as the SIS model and three edge-breaking strategies according to the weight of the SI links were performed simultaneously, which was used to illustrate the influence of the edge weights. Simulation results on three real networks showed the different spreading patterns of different edge-breaking strategies, which in turn indicated the influence of edge weights on the spreading process. Therefore we can take different measures at different periods according to the edge weights to impede the epidemic. In addition, the detailed analyses of relationship between the edge weight and the network structure was given to interpret the role of edge weights in the epidemic spreading process.