A game-theoretic approach to compute stable topologies in mobile ad hoc networks

Mobile ad hoc networks are networks that allow (mobile) users to communicate in heterogeneous environments without relying on a fixed infrastructure, examples of which are mobile communication in large urban spaces or in public transportation. Due to their many advantages, such as decentralization, independence of communication infrastructure, flexibility etc., their field of use steadily increases. However, networks of this kind also raise new problems related to, for example, routing and data delivery, security and privacy, trust and usability. In this article, we propose a formal model of mobile ad hoc networks and address questions regarding optimal and stable network topologies. In particular, stability is important to ensure that communication is reliable and that applications designed for such networks are accepted by the users. We analyse stability from a game theoretic point of view, and propose a non-cooperative as well as a cooperative modelling. Moreover, we allow users to express constraints on how their communication should be handled in the network in order to ensure user constraints, e.g. related to privacy and security. For this purpose we use the temporal logic CTL. Finally, we analyse the complexity of associated verification and synthesis problems regarding optimal/stable network topologies.