The role of self-loops and link removal in evolutionary games on networks

Math Biosci Eng. 2019 Jun 11;16(5):5287-5306. doi: 10.3934/mbe.2019264.

Abstract

Recently, a new mathematical formulation of evolutionary game dynamics [1] has been introduced accounting for a finite number of players organized over a network, where the players are located at the nodes of a graph and edges represent connections between them. Internal steady states are particularly interesting in control and consensus problems, especially in a networked context where they are related to the coexistence of different strategies. In this paper we consider this model including self-loops. Existence of internal steady states is studied for different graph topologies in two-strategy games. Results on the effect of removing links from central players are also presented.

Keywords: competition; connectivity of networks; cooperation; equilibrium states; evolutionary game theory; games on graphs; games on networks; self-loops on graphs.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't