Simplicially driven simple contagion

Maxime Lucas

doi:10.1103/PhysRevResearch.5.013201

Simplicially driven simple contagion

2023-03-23

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DOI：10.1103/PhysRevResearch.5.013201

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Single contagion processes are known to display a continuous transition from an epidemic-free state to an epidemic one, for contagion rates above a critical threshold. This transition can become discontinuous when two simple contagion processes are coupled in a bidirectional symmetric way. However, in many cases, the coupling is not symmetric and the nature of the processes can differ. For example, risky social behaviors-such as not wearing masks or engaging in large gatherings-can affect the spread of a disease, and their adoption dynamics via social reinforcement mechanisms are better described by complex contagion models rather than by simple contagions, more appropriate for disease spreading. Here, we consider a simplicial contagion (describing the adoption of a behavior) that unidirectionally drives a simple contagion (describing a disease propagation). We show, both analytically and numerically, that, above a critical driving strength, such a driven simple contagion can exhibit both discontinuous transitions and bistability, absent otherwise. Our results provide a route for a simple contagion process to display the phenomenology of a higher-order contagion, through a driving mechanism that may be hidden or unobservable in practical instances.

Keywords:

COMPLEX

BEHAVIOR

DISEASES

Simplicially driven simple contagion

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