Watts-Strogatz Small-World Network

Rewiring probability p interpolates between regular lattice and random graph

C/C₀: L/L₀: Rewired edges: p:
About: Watts-Strogatz (1998) model starts with a k-regular ring lattice and rewires each edge with probability p. At p≈0.01–0.1 the "small-world sweet spot" emerges: path length L drops dramatically (like random graph) while clustering C stays high (like lattice). The right panel plots C(p)/C₀ and L(p)/L₀ normalized to their p=0 values.