中国物理B ›› 2002, Vol. 11 ›› Issue (12): 1280-1285.doi: 10.1088/1009-1963/11/12/312

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Social influence in small-world networks

孙锴, 毛晓明, 欧阳颀   

  1. Department of Physics, Mesoscopic physics Laboratory, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
  • 收稿日期:2002-04-03 修回日期:2002-07-12 出版日期:2002-12-12 发布日期:2005-06-12
  • 基金资助:
    Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No 19725519) and Chun-Tsung Foundation of Peking University.

Social influence in small-world networks

Sun Kai (孙锴), Mao Xiao-Ming (毛晓明), Ouyang Qi (欧阳颀)   

  1. Department of Physics, Mesoscopic physics Laboratory, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
  • Received:2002-04-03 Revised:2002-07-12 Online:2002-12-12 Published:2005-06-12
  • Supported by:
    Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No 19725519) and Chun-Tsung Foundation of Peking University.

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摘要： We report on our numerical studies of the Axelrod model for social influence in small-world networks. Our simulation results show that the topology of the network has a crucial effect on the evolution of cultures. As the randomness of the network increases, the system undergoes a transition from a highly fragmented phase to a uniform phase. We also find that the power-law distribution at the transition point, reported by Castellano et al, is not a critical phenomenon; it exists not only at the onset of transition but also for almost any control parameters. All these power-law distributions are stable against perturbations. A mean-field theory is developed to explain these phenomena.

Abstract: We report on our numerical studies of the Axelrod model for social influence in small-world networks. Our simulation results show that the topology of the network has a crucial effect on the evolution of cultures. As the randomness of the network increases, the system undergoes a transition from a highly fragmented phase to a uniform phase. We also find that the power-law distribution at the transition point, reported by Castellano et al, is not a critical phenomenon; it exists not only at the onset of transition but also for almost any control parameters. All these power-law distributions are stable against perturbations. A mean-field theory is developed to explain these phenomena.

Key words: social systems, phase transition, self-organization

中图分类号:  (Networks and genealogical trees)

  • 89.75.Hc
89.75.Fb (Structures and organization in complex systems) 05.40.-a (Fluctuation phenomena, random processes, noise, and Brownian motion) 05.90.+m (Other topics in statistical physics, thermodynamics, and nonlinear dynamical systems)