Stochastic thermodynamics of opinion dynamics

TL;DR

This paper develops a nonequilibrium thermodynamics framework for opinion dynamics by modeling opinion formation as a stochastic thermodynamic system with heat reservoirs, enabling analysis of entropy production and heat fluxes.

Contribution

It introduces a novel thermodynamic approach to opinion dynamics by decomposing transition rates into heat reservoir interactions and applying it to lattice-based opinion models.

Findings

Heat fluxes are present at stationary states due to temperature differences.

Entropy production rates can be numerically calculated for opinion models.

The framework applies to generic vote models including majority-vote on lattices.

Abstract

We show that models of opinion formation and dissemination in a community of individuals can be framed within stochastic thermodynamics from which we can build a nonequilibrium thermodynamics of opinion dynamics. This is accomplished by decomposing the original transition rate that defines an opinion model into two or more transition rates, each representing the contact with heat reservoirs at different temperatures, and postulating an energy function. As the temperatures are distinct, heat fluxes are present even at the stationary state and linked to the production of entropy, the fundamental quantity that characterizes nonequilibrium states. We apply the present framework to a generic-vote model including the majority-vote model in a square lattice and in a cubic lattice. The fluxes and the rate of entropy production are calculated by numerical simulation and by the use of a pair approximation.