Fourier decomposition of payoff matrix for symmetric three-strategy games

Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2014 Oct;90(4):042811. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.90.042811. Epub 2014 Oct 20.

Abstract

In spatial evolutionary games the payoff matrices are used to describe pair interactions among neighboring players located on a lattice. Now we introduce a way how the payoff matrices can be built up as a sum of payoff components reflecting basic symmetries. For the two-strategy games this decomposition reproduces interactions characteristic to the Ising model. For the three-strategy symmetric games the Fourier components can be classified into four types representing games with self-dependent and cross-dependent payoffs, variants of three-strategy coordinations, and the rock-scissors-paper (RSP) game. In the absence of the RSP component the game is a potential game. The resultant potential matrix has been evaluated. The general features of these systems are analyzed when the game is expressed by the linear combinations of these components.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Fourier Analysis*
  • Game Theory*