Realistic, Mathematically Tractable Graph Generation and Evolution, Using Kronecker Multiplication

How can we generate realistic graphs? In addition, how can we do so with a mathematically tractable model that makes it feasible to analyze their properties rigorously? Real graphs obey a long list of surprising properties: Heavy tails for the in- and out-degree distribution; heavy tails for the eigenvalues and eigenvectors; small diameters; and the recently discovered “Densification Power Law” (DPL). All published graph generators either fail to match several of the above properties, are very complicated to analyze mathematically, or both. Here we propose a graph generator that is mathematically tractable and matches this collection of properties. The main idea is to use a non-standard matrix operation, the Kronecker product, to generate graphs that we refer to as “Kronecker graphs”. We show that Kronecker graphs naturally obey all the above properties; in fact, we can rigorously prove that they do so. We also provide empirical evidence showing that they can mimic very well several real graphs.