Statistical physics has proven to be a fruitful framework to describe phenomena outside the realm of traditional physics. Recent years have witnessed an attempt by physicists to study collective phenomena emerging from the interactions of individuals as elementary units in social structures. A wide list of topics are reviewed ranging from opinion and cultural and language dynamics to crowd behavior, hierarchy formation, human dynamics, and social spreading. The connections between these problems and other, more traditional, topics of statistical physics are highlighted. Comparison of model results with empirical data from social systems are also emphasized.
Statistical physics of social dynamics / C., Castellano; S., Fortunato; Loreto, Vittorio. - In: REVIEWS OF MODERN PHYSICS. - ISSN 0034-6861. - 81:(2009), pp. 591-657. [10.1103/RevModPhys.81.591]
Statistical physics of social dynamics
LORETO, Vittorio
2009
Abstract
Statistical physics has proven to be a fruitful framework to describe phenomena outside the realm of traditional physics. Recent years have witnessed an attempt by physicists to study collective phenomena emerging from the interactions of individuals as elementary units in social structures. A wide list of topics are reviewed ranging from opinion and cultural and language dynamics to crowd behavior, hierarchy formation, human dynamics, and social spreading. The connections between these problems and other, more traditional, topics of statistical physics are highlighted. Comparison of model results with empirical data from social systems are also emphasized.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.