563 research outputs found
Dynamics of Majority Rule
We introduce a 2-state opinion dynamics model where agents evolve by majority
rule. In each update, a group of agents is specified whose members then all
adopt the local majority state. In the mean-field limit, where a group consists
of randomly-selected agents, consensus is reached in a time that scales ln N,
where N is the number of agents. On finite-dimensional lattices, where a group
is a contiguous cluster, the consensus time fluctuates strongly between
realizations and grows as a dimension-dependent power of N. The upper critical
dimension appears to be larger than 4. The final opinion always equals that of
the initial majority except in one dimension.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 2-column revtex4 format; annoying typo fixed in
Eq.(1); a similar typo fixed in Eq.(6) and some references update
Opinion dynamics: rise and fall of political parties
We analyze the evolution of political organizations using a model in which
agents change their opinions via two competing mechanisms. Two agents may
interact and reach consensus, and additionally, individual agents may
spontaneously change their opinions by a random, diffusive process. We find
three distinct possibilities. For strong diffusion, the distribution of
opinions is uniform and no political organizations (parties) are formed. For
weak diffusion, parties do form and furthermore, the political landscape
continually evolves as small parties merge into larger ones. Without diffusion,
a pattern develops: parties have the same size and they possess equal niches.
These phenomena are analyzed using pattern formation and scaling techniques.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Volatility clustering and scaling for financial time series due to attractor bubbling
A microscopic model of financial markets is considered, consisting of many
interacting agents (spins) with global coupling and discrete-time thermal bath
dynamics, similar to random Ising systems. The interactions between agents
change randomly in time. In the thermodynamic limit the obtained time series of
price returns show chaotic bursts resulting from the emergence of attractor
bubbling or on-off intermittency, resembling the empirical financial time
series with volatility clustering. For a proper choice of the model parameters
the probability distributions of returns exhibit power-law tails with scaling
exponents close to the empirical ones.Comment: For related publications see http://www.helbing.or
Cytochrome P450 modulates the therapeutic actions of tamoxifen, as evidenced in novel breast cancer models
Effects of Mass Media and Cultural Drift in a Model for Social Influence
In the context of an extension of Axelrod's model for social influence, we
study the interplay and competition between the cultural drift, represented as
random perturbations, and mass media, introduced by means of an external
homogeneous field. Unlike previous studies [J. C. Gonz\'alez-Avella {\it et
al}, Phys. Rev. E {\bf 72}, 065102(R) (2005)], the mass media coupling proposed
here is capable of affecting the cultural traits of any individual in the
society, including those who do not share any features with the external
message. A noise-driven transition is found: for large noise rates, both the
ordered (culturally polarized) phase and the disordered (culturally fragmented)
phase are observed, while, for lower noise rates, the ordered phase prevails.
In the former case, the external field is found to induce cultural ordering, a
behavior opposite to that reported in previous studies using a different
prescription for the mass media interaction. We compare the predictions of this
model to statistical data measuring the impact of a mass media vasectomy
promotion campaign in Brazil.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures; minor changes; added references. To appear in
IJMP
Non-equilibrium phase transition in negotiation dynamics
We introduce a model of negotiation dynamics whose aim is that of mimicking
the mechanisms leading to opinion and convention formation in a population of
individuals. The negotiation process, as opposed to ``herding-like'' or
``bounded confidence'' driven processes, is based on a microscopic dynamics
where memory and feedback play a central role. Our model displays a
non-equilibrium phase transition from an absorbing state in which all agents
reach a consensus to an active stationary state characterized either by
polarization or fragmentation in clusters of agents with different opinions. We
show the exystence of at least two different universality classes, one for the
case with two possible opinions and one for the case with an unlimited number
of opinions. The phase transition is studied analytically and numerically for
various topologies of the agents' interaction network. In both cases the
universality classes do not seem to depend on the specific interaction
topology, the only relevant feature being the total number of different
opinions ever present in the system.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Consensus formation on adaptive networks
The structure of a network can significantly influence the properties of the
dynamical processes which take place on them. While many studies have been
devoted to this influence, much less attention has been devoted to the
interplay and feedback mechanisms between dynamical processes and network
topology on adaptive networks. Adaptive rewiring of links can happen in real
life systems such as acquaintance networks where people are more likely to
maintain a social connection if their views and values are similar. In our
study, we consider different variants of a model for consensus formation. Our
investigations reveal that the adaptation of the network topology fosters
cluster formation by enhancing communication between agents of similar opinion,
though it also promotes the division of these clusters. The temporal behavior
is also strongly affected by adaptivity: while, on static networks, it is
influenced by percolation properties, on adaptive networks, both the early and
late time evolution of the system are determined by the rewiring process. The
investigation of a variant of the model reveals that the scenarios of
transitions between consensus and polarized states are more robust on adaptive
networks.Comment: 11 pages, 14 figure
Role of social environment and social clustering in spread of opinions in co-evolving networks
Taking a pragmatic approach to the processes involved in the phenomena of
collective opinion formation, we investigate two specific modifications to the
co-evolving network voter model of opinion formation, studied by Holme and
Newman [1]. First, we replace the rewiring probability parameter by a
distribution of probability of accepting or rejecting opinions between
individuals, accounting for the asymmetric influences in relationships among
individuals in a social group. Second, we modify the rewiring step by a
path-length-based preference for rewiring that reinforces local clustering. We
have investigated the influences of these modifications on the outcomes of the
simulations of this model. We found that varying the shape of the distribution
of probability of accepting or rejecting opinions can lead to the emergence of
two qualitatively distinct final states, one having several isolated connected
components each in internal consensus leading to the existence of diverse set
of opinions and the other having one single dominant connected component with
each node within it having the same opinion. Furthermore, and more importantly,
we found that the initial clustering in network can also induce similar
transitions. Our investigation also brings forward that these transitions are
governed by a weak and complex dependence on system size. We found that the
networks in the final states of the model have rich structural properties
including the small world property for some parameter regimes. [1] P. Holme and
M. Newman, Phys. Rev. E 74, 056108 (2006)
Exact decoherence to pointer states in free open quantum systems is universal
In this paper it is shown that exact decoherence to minimal uncertainty
Gaussian pointer states is generic for free quantum particles coupled to a heat
bath. More specifically, the paper is concerned with damped free particles
linearly coupled under product initial conditions to a heat bath at arbitrary
temperature, with arbitrary coupling strength and spectral densities covering
the Ohmic, subohmic, and supraohmic regime. Then it is true that there exists a
time t_c such that for times t>t_c the state can always be exactly represented
as a mixture (convex combination) of particular minimal uncertainty Gaussian
states, regardless of and independent from the initial state. This exact
`localisation' is hence not a feature specific to high temperatures and weak
damping limit, but is rather a generic property of damped free particles.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur
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