https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2015-60270-7
Colloquium
Evolutionary games on multilayer networks: a colloquium
1
School of Computer and Information Science, Southwest
University, Chongqing
400715, P.R.
China
2
Department of Physics, Hong Kong Baptist University,
Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, P.R.
China
3
Centre for Chaos and Complex Networks, City University of Hong
Kong, Kowloon Tong,
Hong Kong, P.R.
China
4
Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, Centre for
Energy Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 49, 1525
Budapest,
Hungary
5
Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of
Maribor, Koroška cesta
160, 2000
Maribor,
Slovenia
6
Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, King Abdulaziz
University, Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia
7
CAMTP – Center for Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics,
University of Maribor, Krekova
2, 2000
Maribor,
Slovenia
a
e-mail: matjaz.perc@gmail.com
Received: 3 April 2015
Received in final form: 16 April 2015
Published online: 18 May 2015
Networks form the backbone of many complex systems, ranging from the Internet to human societies. Accordingly, not only is the range of our interactions limited and thus best described and modeled by networks, it is also a fact that the networks that are an integral part of such models are often interdependent or even interconnected. Networks of networks or multilayer networks are therefore a more apt description of social systems. This colloquium is devoted to evolutionary games on multilayer networks, and in particular to the evolution of cooperation as one of the main pillars of modern human societies. We first give an overview of the most significant conceptual differences between single-layer and multilayer networks, and we provide basic definitions and a classification of the most commonly used terms. Subsequently, we review fascinating and counterintuitive evolutionary outcomes that emerge due to different types of interdependencies between otherwise independent populations. The focus is on coupling through the utilities of players, through the flow of information, as well as through the popularity of different strategies on different network layers. The colloquium highlights the importance of pattern formation and collective behavior for the promotion of cooperation under adverse conditions, as well as the synergies between network science and evolutionary game theory.
Key words: Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag, 2015