The microscopic and macroscopic dynamics of random networks is investigated in the strong-dilution limit (i.e., for sparse networks). By simulating chaotic maps, Stuart-Landau oscillators, and leaky integrate-and-fire neurons, we show that a finite connectivity (of the order of a few tens) is able to sustain a nontrivial collective dynamics even in the thermodynamic limit. Although the network structure implies a nonadditive dynamics, the microscopic evolution is extensive (i.e., the number of active degrees of freedom is proportional to the number of network elements).

• Received 24 April 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.138103