Universal robustness of scale‐free networks against cascading edge failures

Considering the effect of the local topology structure of an edge on cascading failures, we investigate the cascading reaction behaviors on scale‐free networks with respect to small edge‐based initial attacks. Adopt the initial load of an edge ij in a network to be L_ij = (k_ik_j)^α(∑k_a)(∑k_b)]^β with k_i and k_j being the degrees of the nodes connected by the edge ij, where α and β are tunable parameters, governing the strength of the edge initial load, and Γ_i and Γ_j are the sets of neighboring nodes of i and j, respectively. Our aim is to explore the relationship between some parameters and universal robustness characteristics against cascading failures on scale‐free networks. We find by the theoretical analysis that the Baraba'si‐Albert (BA) scale‐free networks can reach the strongest robustness level against cascading failures when α + β = 1, where the robustness is quantified by a transition from normal state to collapse. And the network robustness has a positive correlation with the average degree. We furthermore confirm by the numerical simulations these results.