Condensed Matter Physics Seminar
2 p.m., Thursday, November 11, 2004
Room 1201, Physics Building
The Dynamics of Conformity & Dissent
Timothy Halpin-Healy
(Physics Department, Columbia University)
Abstract: Nature is ripe with dynamical aggregation phenomena, in
which an initially homogeneous collection of weakly interacting particles
fragment, disperse, and coalesce. Condensation and droplet formation is, of
course, a well-known example in physics, galaxy formation and clustering
another. The formation of swarms, schools, herds, or even the flocking of birds
provide compelling zoological illustrations. Rich stochastic behavior, as well
as phase transition phenomena, are evident in different evolutionary minority
(e.g., El Farol Bar), public goods, and other societal selection games, such as
the Seceder Model, which introduces a novel dynamical frustration via the
competing tendencies to be distinct, yet part of the group. The Seceder Model
reveals that an iterative microscopic mechanism favoring dissent, yet permitting
conformity, cannot only lead to the genesis of distinct groups, but also yields
an abundant diversity of cluster-forming dynamics. In this talk, we will discuss
population fragmentation, ideological symmetry-breaking and nonlinear group
dynamics characteristic of this intriguing model.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 258103 (2003).
cond-mat/0305356.
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Host: Einstein
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