Evolution of cooperation in the multiplex

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Chen, Zijie, Chen, Xingru, Fu, Feng
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
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author Chen, Zijie
Chen, Xingru
Fu, Feng
author_facet Chen, Zijie
Chen, Xingru
Fu, Feng
contents Across biological and social systems, cooperation often depends on phenotypic cues rather than random encounters. To account for real-world interactions unfolding across multiple, simultaneous dimensions, here we develop a general framework for the evolution of cooperation in multiplex networks governed by multi-phenotype homophily. We derive analytical conditions for natural selection to favor cooperation across phenotypic traits that are independent or exhibit epistasis and under different modes of mutation coupling. Despite the integration of fitness across layers, the conditions for cooperation resolve into layer-specific $σ$-rules, depending only on the local payoff structure, the effective number of phenotypes, and the mutation rates. We show that phenotypic diversity fosters cooperation by partitioning populations into assortative niches. Furthermore, in finite populations, intensifying the prisoner's dilemma shifts the dependence of cooperation on strategy mutation from monotonically decreasing, through U-shaped, to monotonically increasing. Our work provides a unified account of how multi-phenotype homophily underpins the evolutionary dynamics of cooperation in heterogeneous populations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2606_00196
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Evolution of cooperation in the multiplex
Chen, Zijie
Chen, Xingru
Fu, Feng
Populations and Evolution
Physics and Society
Across biological and social systems, cooperation often depends on phenotypic cues rather than random encounters. To account for real-world interactions unfolding across multiple, simultaneous dimensions, here we develop a general framework for the evolution of cooperation in multiplex networks governed by multi-phenotype homophily. We derive analytical conditions for natural selection to favor cooperation across phenotypic traits that are independent or exhibit epistasis and under different modes of mutation coupling. Despite the integration of fitness across layers, the conditions for cooperation resolve into layer-specific $σ$-rules, depending only on the local payoff structure, the effective number of phenotypes, and the mutation rates. We show that phenotypic diversity fosters cooperation by partitioning populations into assortative niches. Furthermore, in finite populations, intensifying the prisoner's dilemma shifts the dependence of cooperation on strategy mutation from monotonically decreasing, through U-shaped, to monotonically increasing. Our work provides a unified account of how multi-phenotype homophily underpins the evolutionary dynamics of cooperation in heterogeneous populations.
title Evolution of cooperation in the multiplex
topic Populations and Evolution
Physics and Society
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.00196