Abstract
We introduce a discrete multiplicative process as a generic model of competition. Players with different abilities successively join the game and compete for finite resources. Emergence of dominant players and evolutionary development occur as a phase transition. The competitive dynamics underlying this transition is understood from a formal analogy to statistical mechanics. The theory is applicable to bacterial competition, predicting novel population dynamics near criticality.
- Received 4 April 2003
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.72.011912
©2005 American Physical Society