Birth and Death in a Continuous Opinion Dynamics Model. The consensus case

TL;DR

This paper explores opinion formation dynamics in an open community with agent birth and death, using a simplified model that incorporates mutual affinity, revealing complex behaviors supported by numerical and analytical methods.

Contribution

It introduces a novel open-community opinion dynamics model with birth and death processes, extending previous closed-group models.

Findings

Rich phenomenology of opinion dynamics in open communities

Numerical and analytical results show diverse behaviors

Insights into how birth and death influence consensus and opinion diversity

Abstract

We here discuss the process of opinion formation in an open community where agents are made to interact and consequently update their beliefs. New actors (birth) are assumed to replace individuals that abandon the community (deaths). This dynamics is simulated in the framework of a simplified model that accounts for mutual affinity between agents. A rich phenomenology is presented and discussed with reference to the original (closed group) setting. Numerical findings are supported by analytical calculations.