Date: Sunday, 27 Iyar 5765 (June 5, '05)

Speaker: Tomer Kalisky (Dept. of Physics, Bar-Ilan University)

Title: "Scale-free networks emerging from weighted random graphs:
        percolation, optimization and minimum spanning trees"

Abstract:
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Many natural and artificial complex systems have a web-like structure
and may be described as networks (i.e. random graphs). Examples vary
from communication networks (e.g. the Internet), to networks in
sociology and biology. I will talk about networks from the viewpoint
of both mathematics and statistical physics. In particular I will show
that some complicated mathematical questions on random graphs can be
solved simply by using tools from the theory of percolation and
critical phenomena.

I will also present recent results about the structure of minimum
spanning trees, and optimal paths in random graphs.