Noise-driven bias in the non-local voter model

TL;DR

This paper introduces a generalized off-lattice voter model analyzing how influence range and strength affect opinion dynamics, revealing that wider but weaker influence can dominate due to noise, with implications for politics and disease spread.

Contribution

It presents a novel off-lattice voter model with adjustable influence parameters and provides analytical insights into how influence range and strength impact consensus formation.

Findings

Wider but weaker influence can dominate due to noise effects.

Analytical predictions match simulation results across regimes.

Implications for political campaigns and disease evolution strategies.

Abstract

Is it more effective to have a strong influence over a small domain, or a weaker influence over a larger one? Here, we introduce and analyse an off-lattice generalisation of the voter model, in which the range and strength of agents' influence are control parameters. We consider both low and high density regimes and, using distinct mathematical approaches, derive analytical predictions for the evolution of agent densities. We find that, even when the agents are equally persuasive on average, those whose influence is wider but weaker have an overall noise-driven advantage allowing them to reliably dominate the entire population. We discuss the implications of our results and the potential of our model (or adaptations thereof) to improve the understanding of political campaign strategies and the evolution of disease.