title: Network-based criterion for the success of cooperation in an evolutionary prisoner's dilemma.
abstract: We consider an evolutionary prisoner's dilemma on a random network. We introduce a simple quantitative network-based parameter and show that it effectively predicts the success of cooperation in simulations on the network. The criterion is shown to be accurate on a variety of networks with degree distributions ranging from regular to Poisson to scale free. The parameter allows for comparisons of random networks regardless of their underlying topology. Finally, we draw analogies between the criterion for the success of cooperation introduced here and existing criteria in other contexts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94117, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Devlin
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Treloar
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000533:Altruism; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001703:Biophysics / Q000379:methods; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005716:Game Theory; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008954:Models, Biological; D015233:Models, Statistical; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D015203:Reproducibility of Results