Polarizability, Consensusability, and Neutralizability of Opinion Dynamics on Coopetitive Networks

Abstract

Opinion dynamics on social networks with coopetitive (cooperative-competitive) interactions may result in polarity, consensus or neutrality under different opinion protocols. The antecedent of protocol design is to study the accessibility problem: whether or not there exist admissible control rules to polarize, consensus, or neutralize individual opinions in a large population. From an operational perspective, this technical note is aimed at the investigation of polarizability, consensusability, and neutralizability of opinion dynamics in question. Particular emphasis is on the joint impact of the dynamical properties of individuals and the interaction topology among them on polarizability, consensusability, and neutralizability, respectively. Sufficient and/or necessary conditions for those accessibility problems are provided by using powerful tools from spectral analysis and algebraic graph theory. To characterize the individual diversity in real life, we further investigate the solvability of opinion formation problems in heterogeneous systems with nonidentical dynamics. Accordingly, sufficient and/or necessary criteria for heterogeneous network polarizability, consensusability, and neutralizability are derived.