The price of anarchy for network formation in an adversary model

Abstract

We study network formation with n players and link cost α > 0. After the network is built, an adversary randomly deletes one link according to a certain probability distribution. Cost for player v incorporates the expected number of players to which v will become disconnected. We focus on unilateral link formation and Nash equilibrium. We show existence of Nash equilibria and a price of stability of 1 + o(1) under moderate assumptions on the adversary and n ≥ 9. We prove bounds on the price of anarchy for two special adversaries: one removes a link chosen uniformly at random, while the other removes a link that causes a maximum number of player pairs to be separated. We show an O(1) bound on the price of anarchy for both adversaries, the constant being bounded by 15 + o(1) and 9 + o(1), respectively. © 2011 by the author; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.