Heterogeneity of link weight and the evolution of cooperation

TL;DR

This paper explores how heterogeneity in link weights among individuals influences the evolution of cooperation, revealing that moderate heterogeneity can promote cooperative behavior through specific mechanisms.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of link-weight heterogeneity effects on cooperation, identifying key mechanisms and conditions that facilitate cooperative evolution.

Findings

Moderate link-weight heterogeneity facilitates cooperation.

Two mechanisms promote cooperation: spread and maintenance.

Conditions for these mechanisms are derived from evolutionary dynamics.

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the effect of "heterogeneity of link weight", heterogeneity of the frequency or amount of interactions among individuals, on the evolution of cooperation. Based on an analysis of the evolutionary prisoner's dilemma game on a weighted one-dimensional lattice network with "intra-individual heterogeneity", we confirm that moderate level of link-weight heterogeneity can facilitate cooperation. Furthermore, we identify two key mechanisms by which link-weight heterogeneity promotes the evolution of cooperation: mechanisms for spread and maintenance of cooperation. We also derive the corresponding conditions under which the mechanisms can work through evolutionary dynamics.