Scientific Reports (Jan 2022)

Non-Hermitian topology in rock–paper–scissors games

  • Tsuneya Yoshida,
  • Tomonari Mizoguchi,
  • Yasuhiro Hatsugai

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-04178-8
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 1
pp. 1 – 7

Abstract

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Abstract Non-Hermitian topology is a recent hot topic in condensed matters. In this paper, we propose a novel platform drawing interdisciplinary attention: rock–paper–scissors (RPS) cycles described by the evolutionary game theory. Specifically, we demonstrate the emergence of an exceptional point and a skin effect by analyzing topological properties of their payoff matrix. Furthermore, we discover striking dynamical properties in an RPS chain: the directive propagation of the population density in the bulk and the enhancement of the population density only around the right edge. Our results open new avenues of the non-Hermitian topology and the evolutionary game theory.