Competitive cluster growth on networks: Complex dynamics and survival strategies

We extend the study of a model of competitive cluster growth in an active medium from a regular topology to a complex network topology; this is done by adding nonlocal connections with probability p to sites on a regular lattice, thus enabling one to interpolate between regularity and full randomness. The model on networks demonstrates high sensitivity to small changes in initial configurations, which we characterize using damage spreading. The main focus of this paper is, however, the devising of survival strategies through selective networking, to alter the fate of an arbitrarily chosen cluster: whether this be to revive a dying cluster to life, or to make a weak survivor into a stronger one. Although such goals are typically achieved by networking with relatively small clusters, our results suggest that it ought to be possible also to network successfully with peers and larger clusters. The main indication of this comes from the probability distributions of mass differences between survivors and their immediate neighbours, which show an interesting universality; they suggest strategies for winning against the odds.