Sociophysics, Econophysics, and Complex Networks

Welcome to Sociophysics, Econophysics, and Complex Networks @ Instituto de Física - UFRGS

Sociophysics means today the use and application of traditional model and tools of mechanical statistics to help understand the behavior of complex systems made of people. Critical behavior, phase transitions, and dynamical systems are concepts used in Sociophysics. Recent advances and ideas from network theory are used prominently too.  Econophysics, opinion and innovation dynamics, network robustness, and the spread of epidemics are some of our topics of research. 

Complex Systems is at the interface between traditional condensed matter physics and statistical mechanics with networks and social phenomena. The focus is on applying statistical mechanics techniques to understand the dynamics and emerging properties of social, economic, and biological systems. It is an extension of physics beyond its traditional object of study, using similarities between the movement of atoms in a gas exchanging energy and people exchanging money or goods, for example. That is one of the analogies that enable the use of techniques and models enshrined in condensed matter physics for social systems. We apply theoretical-computational tools to so-called socio physical problems.  For example, the income distribution among people with binary exchange models (econophysics) or the dynamics in adopting an innovation. Some results have the potential for application in real systems like the simulation of attacks on criminal networks.