Weighted Fractal Networks

In this paper we define a new class of weighted complex networks sharing several properties with fractal sets, and whose topology can be completely analytically characterized in terms of the involved parameters and of the fractal dimension. General networks with fractal or hierarchical structures can be set in the proposed framework that moreover could be used to provide some answers to the widespread emergence of fractal structures in nature. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved