
Sociophysics: An Introduction
AN INTRODUCTION C
Oxford University Press
Published on 10. October 2013
Book
Hardback
298 pages
978-0-19-966245-6 (ISBN)
Description
This book discusses the study and analysis of the physical aspects of social systems and models, inspired by the analogy with familiar models of physical systems and possible applications of statistical physics tools. Unlike the traditional analysis of the physics of macroscopic many-body or condensed matter systems, which is now an established and mature subject, the upsurge in the physical analysis and modelling of social systems, which are clearly many-body dynamical systems, is a recent phenomenon. Though the major developments in sociophysics have taken place only recently, the earliest attempts of proposing "Social Physics" as a discipline are more than one and a half centuries old. Various developments in the mainstream physics of condensed matter systems have inspired and induced the recent growth of sociophysical analysis and models. In spite of the tremendous efforts of many scientists in recent years, the subject is still in its infancy and major challenges are yet to be taken up. An introduction to these challenges is the main motivation for this book.
Reviews / Votes
This well-conceived and comprehensive volume offers a stimulating introduction to the physics of society, mainly from a statistical physicist's point of view. I recommend this book to novices and experienced readers alike - it covers an exciting range of research problems. * Nicole J. Saam, Institute of Sociology, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg * This book is written for those who have always wondered "Why couldn't we model society in a computer?" Sociophysics offers a new perspective on collective phenomena such as opinion formation, popularity, election outcomes, or economic and crowd dynamics. Sociophysics is on the rise. This book provides a nice introduction of some related models. * Dirk Helbing, ETH Zuerich *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
96 b/w line illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 250 mm
Width: 175 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
697 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-966245-6 (9780199662456)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
10/2013
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€80.49
Available for download

E-Book
10/2013
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€80.49
Available for download
Persons
Parongama Sen is Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Calcutta. Her research interests include phase transitions and critical phenomena, complex networks, physics of quantum and classical random walks, and applications of physics to social sciences.
Bikas K. Chakrabarti is Professor of Physics at the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, and Visiting Professor of Economics at the Indian Statistical Institute. He has research interests in statistical physics, condensed matter physics, physics of quantum glasses, annealing and computation, and applications of physics to social sciences.
Bikas K. Chakrabarti is Professor of Physics at the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, and Visiting Professor of Economics at the Indian Statistical Institute. He has research interests in statistical physics, condensed matter physics, physics of quantum glasses, annealing and computation, and applications of physics to social sciences.
Author
Associate Professor of PhysicsAssociate Professor of Physics, Department of Physics, University of Calcutta, India
Professor of PhysicsProfessor of Physics, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata, India
Content
1. Introduction ; 2. Basic features of social systems and modelling ; 3. Opinion formation in a society ; 4. Social choices and popularity ; 5. Crowd avoiding dynamical phenomena ; 6. Social phenomena on complex networks ; 7. Of flocks, flows and transports ; 8. Endnote ; Appendix A: Phase transitions and critical phenomena ; Appendix B: Magnetic systems: static and dynamical behaviour ; Appendix C: Percolation and fractals ; Appendix D: Random walks ; Appendix E: Monte Carlo simulations ; Appendix F: Some data analysis methods and useful tables