632	RWTH Publication No: 974667        2023
TITLE	Effects of heterogeneous opinion interactions in many-agent systems for epidemic dynamics
AUTHORS	Sabrina Bonandin, Mattia Zanella
ABSTRACT	In this work we define a kinetic model for understanding the impact of heterogeneous opinion formation dynamics on epidemics. The considered many-agent system is characterized by nonsymmetric interactions which define a coupled system of kinetic equations for the evolution of the opinion density in each compartment. In the quasi-invariant limit we may show positivity and uniqueness of the solution of the problem together with its convergence towards an equilibrium distribution exhibiting bimodal shape. The tendency of the system towards opinion clusters is further analyzed by means of numerical methods, which confirm the consistency of the kinetic model with its moment system whose evolution is approximated in several regimes of parameters.
KEYWORDS	kinetic equations, mathematical epidemiology, opinion dynamics, collective phenomena, many-agent systems
DOI	10.3934/nhm.20240011