Distribution of minimal path lengths when edge lengths are independent heterogeneous exponential random variables

Abstract

We find the joint distribution of the lengths of the shortest paths from a specified node to all other nodes in a network in which the edge lengths are assumed to be independent heterogeneous exponential random variables. We also give an efficient way to simulate these lengths that requires only one generated exponential per node, as well as efficient procedures to use the simulated data to estimate quantities of the joint distribution.