Internet Has Been Mapped to a Hyperbolic Space

September 14, 2010

Researchers claim to have mapped the Internet to a hyperbolic space.

Guided by the hyperbolic map, Internet routing showed scaling properties that were, theoretically, exceptional, meaning, in other words, that glitches could become a thing of the past while the speed of Internet navigation greatly increased.

The network mapping method also offered another perspective on the idea of community structures in complex networks.

Squeezing the network into a disc using hyperbolic geometry, Marián Boguñá (University of Barcelona), Fragkiskos Papadopoulos (University of Cyprus, Nicosia), and Dmitri Krioukov (University of California, San Diego) showed that each square on their map became autonomous; the most well-connected systems were closest to the center. The area of the hyperbolic plane grew exponentially the further from the center, allowing edges of the map to become "roomier" than the middle.

Simulations demonstrated that in hyperbolic mapping, only 3% of traffic became trapped.

The researchers findings, titled "Sustaining the Internet with Hyperbolic Mapping," appeared in Nature Communications (September 7, 2010)

Source: New Scientist (September 8, 2010)

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946

Start Date:

Tuesday, September 14, 2010