A scale-free network is a network whose degree distribution follows a power law, at least asymptotically. That is, the fraction P(k) of nodes in the network having k connections to other nodes goes for large values of k as
where is a normalization constant and is a parameter whose value is typically in the range 2 < < 3, although occasionally it may lie outside these bounds.
Many networks are conjectured to be scale-free, including World Wide Web links, biological networks, and social networks, although the scientific community is still discussing these claims as more sophisticated data analysis techniques become available. Preferential attachment and the fitness model have been proposed as mechanisms to explain conjectured power law degree distributions in real networks.
Read more about Scale-free Network: History, Characteristics, Examples, Generative Models, Scale-free Ideal Network
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