Figure 5 .
Example of h-index of two (non-existing) authors. Both authors have written ten cited papers. One has a total of 44 citations (author 1), the other a total of 19 citations. Both obtain h-index 3, because the 3rd paper is cited three times and the 4th paper is not cited four times (see the filled area). Note that following the formula C = a * h2 (see figure 4), the expected total citations would be between 27 and 45. The profiles of these two ghost authors are therefore extreme examples.