Robustness of network controllability under edge removal

Abstract

We introduce a quantitative measure of robustness of network controllability. Given a set of control nodes which drive the network, we investigate the effect of edge removal on the number of controllable nodes. We find that the mean degree of the network is a major factor in determining the robustness of random networks. Nonetheless, a comparison between real and random networks indicates a statistically significant difference which points to additional factors that influence the robustness of control of real complex networks. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.