News of Science
March 29, 2009

PHYSICS;
New physics study results reported from A.E. Allahverdyan et al

According to recent research from Yerevan, Armenia, "Selection in a
time-periodic environment is modeled via the two-player replicator
dynamics. For sufficiently fast environmental changes, this is reduced
to a multiplayer replicator dynamics in a constant environment."

"The two-player terms correspond to the time-averaged payoffs, while
the three- and four-player terms arise from the adaptation of the
morphs to their varying environment. Such multiplayer terms can induce
a stable polymorphism," wrote A.E. Allahverdyan and colleagues.

The researchers concluded: "The establishment of the polymorphism in
partnership games [genetic selection] is accompanied by decreasing
mean fitness of the population."

Allahverdyan and colleagues published their study in Physical Review
Letters (Replicators in a Fine-Grained Environment: Adaptation and
Polymorphism. Physical Review Letters, 2009;102(5):8102).

For additional information, contact A.E. Allahverdyan, Yerevan Physics
Institute, Alikhanian Bros St. 2, Yerevan 375036, Armenia.

Publisher contact information for the journal Physical Review Letters
is: American Physical Society, One Physics Ellipse, College Pk, MD
20740-3844, USA.