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Divide and conquer: resonance induced by competitive interactions

Vaz Martins,Teresa;Toral,Raul;Santos,M.A.
European Physical Journal B 67, 329-336 (2009)

We study an Ising model in a network with disorder induced by the presence of both attractive and repulsive links and sub jected to a periodic subthreshold signal. By means of numerical simulations and analytical calculations we give evidence that the global response of the system reaches a maximum value for a given fraction of the number of repulsive interactions. The model can represent a network of spin-like neurons with excitatory and inhibitory couplings, or a simple opinion spreading model. In this context, attractive/repulsive links represent friends and enemies. “Divide and Conquer” refers to the fact that in order to force a society to adopt a new point of view, it helps to break its homogeneity by fostering enmities amongst its members.