Scaling limits for continuous opinion dynamics systems

Abstract

Scaling limits are analyzed for stochastic continuous opinion dynamics systems, also known as gossip models. In such models, agents update their vector-valued opinion to a convex combination (possibly agent- and opinion-dependent) of their current value and that of another observed agent. It is shown that, in the limit of large agent population size, the empirical opinion density concentrates, at an exponential probability rate, around the solution of a probability-measure-valued ordinary differential equation describing the system's mean-field dynamics. Properties of the associated initial value problem are studied. The asymptotic behavior of the solution is analyzed for bounded-confidence opinion dynamics, and in the presence of an heterogeneous influential environment.

Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/10-AAP739 the Annals of Applied Probability (http://www.imstat.org/aap/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org)