4 - Introduction to dynamical processes: theory and simulation

Summary

The present chapter is intended to provide a short introduction to the theory and modeling of equilibrium and non-equilibrium processes on networks and to define the basic modeling approaches and techniques used in the theory of dynamical processes. In particular, we define the master equation formalism and distinguish between equilibrium and non-equilibrium phenomena. Unfortunately, while the master equation allows for important conceptual distinction and categorization, its complete solution is hardly achievable even for very simple dynamical processes. For this reason we introduce the reader to techniques such as mean-field and continuous deterministic approximations, which usually represent viable approaches to understand basic features of the process under study. We also discuss Monte Carlo and agent-based modeling approaches that are generally implemented in large-scale numerical simulation methods.

These different theoretical methods help to define a general framework to demonstrate how the microscopic interactions between the elements of the system lead to cooperative phenomena and emergent properties of the dynamical processes. This strategy, going from microscopic interaction to emergent collective phenomena, has its roots in statistical physics methodology and population dynamics, and is currently viewed as a general paradigm to bridge the gap between the local and the large-scale properties of complex systems. It is important to stress, however, that the following material is a greatly abbreviated presentation of a huge field of research and by necessity just scratches the surface of the statistical theory of dynamical processes.