Dresden 2006 – scientific programme

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AKSOE: Physik sozio-ökonomischer Systeme

AKSOE 10: Poster Session (posters are expected to be displayed the full day 8:30-18:00)

AKSOE 10.58: Poster

Wednesday, March 29, 2006, 16:00–18:00, P2

Initiating a Mexican wave: An instantaneous collective decision combining short and long range interactions — •Illes Farkas and Tamas Vicsek — Biol. Phys. Res. Group of HAS and Dept. of Biol. Phys., Eotvos Univ., Pazmany P. stny. 1A, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary

The Mexican wave (La Ola) emerges through the coordinated behavior of spectators in a stadium as they stand up and then sit down again following those to their left (or right) with a short delay. Since its spontaneously selected direction of motion is the result of a rapid collective decision, it can serve as a paradigm for processes with limited complexity of the interaction. The global patterns of collective opinion formation in more complex situations are of considerable interest and have recently been studied with success using the methods of statistical physics. Guided by the extensive observations of volunteers filling out our online questionnaire, we use a simple, but still realistic model of the Mexican wave to explain how the combined effect of the local and global interaction terms produces a spontaneous symmetry breaking. The symmetric solution containing two waves (one moving left and one right) is replaced by a single wave (one of the two possible directions of propagation is selected and the other is suppressed). We find that this transition has features reminiscent of discontinuous transitions. After the spontaneous symmetry breaking the two directions of propagation are still statistically equivalent. We investigate also how this remaining symmetry is broken in real stadia by a small asymmetrical term in the perception of spectators.