Dynamics of Majority Rule on Hypergraphs

TL;DR

This paper investigates how majority rule opinion dynamics can be modeled on hypergraphs with group interactions of size three, using Fokker-Planck equations to predict consensus formation.

Contribution

It introduces hypergraph models for opinion dynamics with group interactions and develops a Fokker-Planck framework to analyze transient consensus dynamics.

Findings

Theoretical predictions match stochastic simulations for large populations.

Hypergraph structures influence the speed and nature of consensus formation.

Fokker-Planck equations effectively describe the transient dynamics.

Abstract

A broad range of dynamical systems involve multi-body interactions, or group interactions, which may not be encoded in traditional graphical structures. In this work, we focus on a canonical example from opinion dynamics, the Majority Rule, and investigate the possibility to represent and analyse the system by means of hypergraphs. We explore the formation of consensus and restrict our attention to interaction groups of size $3$, in order to simplify our analysis from a combinatorial perspective. We propose different types of hypergraph models, incorporating modular structure or degree heterogeneity, and recast the dynamics in terms of Fokker-Planck equations, which allows us to predict the transient dynamics toward consensus. Numerical simulations show a very good agreement between the stochastic dynamics and theoretical predictions for large population sizes.