Extreme Thouless effect in a minimal model of dynamic social networks

In common descriptions of phase transitions, first-order transitions are characterized by discontinuous jumps in the order parameter and normal fluctuations, while second-order transitions are associated with no jumps and anomalous fluctuations. Outside this paradigm are systems exhibiting "mixed-order" transitions displaying a mixture of these characteristics. When the jump is maximal and the fluctuations range over the entire range of allowed values, the behavior has been coined an "extreme Thouless effect." Here we report findings of such a phenomenon in the context of dynamic, social networks. Defined by minimal rules of evolution, it describes a population of extreme introverts and extroverts, who prefer to have contacts with, respectively, no one or everyone. From the dynamics, we derive an exact distribution of microstates in the stationary state. With only two control parameters, N(I,E) (the number of each subgroup), we study collective variables of interest, e.g., X, the total number of I-E links, and the degree distributions. Using simulations and mean-field theory, we provide evidence that this system displays an extreme Thouless effect. Specifically, the fraction X/(N(I)N(E)) jumps from 0 to 1 (in the thermodynamic limit) when N(I) crosses N(E), while all values appear with equal probability at N(I)=N(E).