Nash Equilibria in Four-Strategy Quantum Extensions of the Prisoner’s Dilemma Game

The concept of Nash equilibria in pure strategies for quantum extensions of the general form of the Prisoner’s Dilemma game is investigated. The process of quantization involves incorporating two additional unitary strategies, which effectively expand the classical game. We consider five classes of...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Piotr Frąckiewicz, Anna Gorczyca-Goraj, Krzysztof Grzanka, Katarzyna Nowakowska, Marek Szopa
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Entropy
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/27/7/755
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Summary:The concept of Nash equilibria in pure strategies for quantum extensions of the general form of the Prisoner’s Dilemma game is investigated. The process of quantization involves incorporating two additional unitary strategies, which effectively expand the classical game. We consider five classes of such quantum games, which remain invariant under isomorphic transformations of the classical game. The resulting Nash equilibria are found to be more closely aligned with Pareto-optimal solutions than those of the conventional Nash equilibrium outcome of the classical game. Our results demonstrate the complexity and diversity of strategic behavior in the quantum setting, providing new insights into the dynamics of classical decision-making dilemmas. In particular, we provide a detailed characterization of strategy profiles and their corresponding Nash equilibria, thereby extending the understanding of quantum strategies’ impact on traditional game-theoretical problems.
ISSN:1099-4300