Swarming on Random Graphs

Abstract

We consider a compromise model in one dimension in which pairs of agents interact through first-order dynamics that involve both attraction and repulsion. In the case of all-to-all coupling of agents, this system has a lowest energy state in which half of the agents agree upon one value and the other half agree upon a different value. The purpose of this paper is to study the behavior of this compromise model when the interaction between the N agents occurs according to an Erdo{double acute}s-Rényi random graph G(N,p). We study the effect of changing p on the stability of the compromised state, and derive both rigorous and asymptotic results suggesting that the stability is preserved for probabilities greater than pc=O(log N/N). In other words, relatively few interactions are needed to preserve stability of the state. The results rely on basic probability arguments and the theory of eigenvalues of random matrices. © 2013 The Author(s).