Coevolution of quantum and classical strategies on evolving random networks

PLoS One. 2013 Jul 12;8(7):e68423. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0068423. Print 2013.

Abstract

We study the coevolution of quantum and classical strategies on weighted and directed random networks in the realm of the prisoner's dilemma game. During the evolution, agents can break and rewire their links with the aim of maximizing payoffs, and they can also adjust the weights to indicate preferences, either positive or negative, towards their neighbors. The network structure itself is thus also subject to evolution. Importantly, the directionality of links does not affect the accumulation of payoffs nor the strategy transfers, but serves only to designate the owner of each particular link and with it the right to adjust the link as needed. We show that quantum strategies outperform classical strategies, and that the critical temptation to defect at which cooperative behavior can be maintained rises, if the network structure is updated frequently. Punishing neighbors by reducing the weights of their links also plays an important role in maintaining cooperation under adverse conditions. We find that the self-organization of the initially random network structure, driven by the evolutionary competition between quantum and classical strategies, leads to the spontaneous emergence of small average path length and a large clustering coefficient.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Biological Evolution*
  • Game Theory*
  • Models, Biological*

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants 61105125 and 51177177), by the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant 2011M501385) and by the Australian Research Council (Grant DP0771453). MP acknowledges support from the Slovenian Research Agency (Grant J1–4055). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.