Homogeneous Boltzmann-type equations on graphs: A framework for modelling networked social interactions

Abstract

Homogeneous Boltzmann-type equations are an established tool for modelling interacting multi-agent systems in sociophysics by means of the principles of statistical mechanics and kinetic theory. A customary implicit assumption is that interactions are "all-to-all", meaning that every pair of randomly sampled agents may potentially interact. However, this legacy of classical kinetic theory, developed for collisions among gas molecules, may not be equally applicable to social interactions, which are often influenced by preferential connections between agents. In this paper, we discuss ongoing research on incorporating graph structures into homogeneous Boltzmann-type equations, thereby accounting for the "some-to-some" nature of social interactions.