WIAS Preprint No. 2352, (2016)

Another phase transition in the Axelrod model



Authors

  • Stivala, Alex
  • Keeler, Paul
    ORCID: 0000-0002-2063-1075

2010 Mathematics Subject Classification

  • 91D10 82C80 82C44

Keywords

  • Culture dissemination, lattice model, mean-field analysis

DOI

10.20347/WIAS.PREPRINT.2352

Abstract

Axelrod's model of cultural dissemination, despite its apparent simplicity, demonstrates complex behavior that has been of much interest in statistical physics. Despite the many variations and extensions of the model that have been investigated, a systematic investigation of the effects of changing the size of the neighborhood on the lattice in which interactions can occur has not been made. Here we investigate the effect of varying the radius R of the von Neumann neighborhood in which agents can interact. We show, in addition to the well-known phase transition at the critical value of q, the number of traits, another phase transition at a critical value of R, and draw a q - R phase diagram for the Axelrod model on a square lattice. In addition, we present a mean-field approximation of the model in which behavior on an infinite lattice can be analyzed.

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