Evolution of cooperation on scale-free networks under limited resources

Abstract

Limitation of resources has been recently introduced as a mechanism for the survival and coexistence of cooperators with defectors in well-mixed populations. Here we examine the same model on a scale-free network. A prisoner's dilemma game on a scale-free network has shown coexistence of cooperators and defectors for the entire range of parameters. Our results show that by introducing the network to the limited resources model, the cooperator-dominated region in the parameter space expands comparing to the results of well-mixed population and the coexistence region becomes narrower. The effect of scale-free network is therefore interpreted as improving the cooperation in the population and reducing the coexistence.