Phase transition in kinetic exchange opinion models with independence

In this work we study the critical behavior of a three-state (+1, −1, 0) opinion model with independence. Each agent has a probability q to act as independent, i.e., he/she can choose his/her opinion independently of the opinions of the other agents. On the other hand, with the complementary probability 1 − q the agent interacts with a randomly chosen individual through a kinetic exchange. Our analytical and numerical results show that the independence mechanism acts as a noise that induces an order-disorder transition at critical points qc that depend on the individuals’ flexibility. For a special value of this flexibility the system undergoes a transition to an absorbing state with all opinions 0.