Epidemic threshold and localization of the SIS model on directed complex networks
Phys. Rev. E 112, 064303 – Published 4 December, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/wg82-f4lf
Abstract
We study the susceptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) model on directed complex networks within the quenched mean-field approximation. Combining results from random matrix theory with an analytic approach to the distribution of fixed-point infection probabilities, we derive the phase diagram and show that the model exhibits a nonequilibrium phase transition between the absorbing and endemic phases for , where is the mean degree and is the average infection rate. Interestingly, the critical line is independent of the degree distribution but is highly sensitive to the form of the infection-rate distribution. We further show that the inverse participation ratio of infection probabilities diverges near the epidemic threshold, indicating that the disease may become localized on a small fraction of nodes. These results provide a systematic characterization of how network heterogeneities shape epidemic spreading on directed contact networks within the quenched mean-field approximation.