How heavy-tailed inter-event times reshape epidemic spreading
Click "Run Both" to compare bursty vs Poisson
In Poisson contact networks, inter-event times are exponential (memoryless). In real social networks,
contacts are "bursty" — heavy-tailed inter-event times (power law τ^{−β}) create long silent periods
punctuated by bursts. This slows epidemic onset (long gaps without contact) but accelerates late
spreading (burst clusters). Blue: Poisson contacts. Red: Bursty contacts. Right: inter-event distribution.