Econophysics

Modelling financial time series with $φ^{“4”}$ quantum field theory ArXiv ID: 2512.17225 “View on arXiv” Authors: Dimitrios Bachtis, David S. Berman, Arabella Schelpe Abstract We use a $φ^{“4”}$ quantum field theory with inhomogeneous couplings and explicit symmetry-breaking to model an ensemble of financial time series from the S$&$P 500 index. The continuum nature of the $φ^4$ theory avoids the inaccuracies that occur in Ising-based models which require a discretization of the time series. We demonstrate this using the example of the 2008 global financial crisis. The $φ^{“4”}$ quantum field theory is expressive enough to reproduce the higher-order statistics such as the market kurtosis, which can serve as an indicator of possible market shocks. Accurate reproduction of high kurtosis is absent in binarized models. Therefore Ising models, despite being widely employed in econophysics, are incapable of fully representing empirical financial data, a limitation not present in the generalization of the $φ^{“4”}$ scalar field theory. We then investigate the scaling properties of the $φ^{“4”}$ machine learning algorithm and extract exponents which govern the behavior of the learned couplings (or weights and biases in ML language) in relation to the number of stocks in the model. Finally, we use our model to forecast the price changes of the AAPL, MSFT, and NVDA stocks. We conclude by discussing how the $φ^{“4”}$ scalar field theory could be used to build investment strategies and the possible intuitions that the QFT operations of dimensional compactification and renormalization can provide for financial modelling. ...

Temperature Measurement in Agent Systems ArXiv ID: 2507.08394 “View on arXiv” Authors: Christoph J. Börner, Ingo Hoffmann Abstract Models for spin systems, known from statistical physics, are applied analogously in econometrics in the form of agent-based models. The models discussed in the econophysics literature all use the state variable $T$, which, in physics, represents the temperature of a system. However, there is little evidence on how temperature can be measured in econophysics, so that the models can be applied. Only in idealized capital market applications has the relationship between temperature and volatility been demonstrated, allowing temperature to be determined through volatility measurements. The question remains how this can be achieved in agent systems beyond capital market applications. This paper focuses precisely on this question. It examines an agent system with two decision options in a news environment, establishes the measurement equation, and outlines the basic concept of temperature measurement. The procedure is illustrated using an example. In an application with competing subsystems, an interesting strategy for influencing the average opinion in the competing subsystem is presented. ...

A closer look at the chemical potential of an ideal agent system ArXiv ID: 2401.09233 “View on arXiv” Authors: Unknown Abstract Models for spin systems known from statistical physics are used in econometrics in the form of agent-based models. Econophysics research in econometrics is increasingly developing general market models that describe exchange phenomena and use the chemical potential $μ$ known from physics in the context of particle number changes. In statistical physics, equations of state are known for the chemical potential, which take into account the respective model framework and the corresponding state variables. A simple transfer of these equations of state to problems in econophysics appears difficult. To the best of our knowledge, the equation of state for the chemical potential is currently missing even for the simplest conceivable model of an ideal agent system. In this paper, this research gap is closed and the equation of state for the chemical potential is derived from the econophysical model assumptions of the ideal agent system. An interpretation of the equation of state leads to fundamental relationships that could also have been guessed, but are shown here by the theory. ...

Exact solution to a generalised Lillo-Mike-Farmer model with heterogeneous order-splitting strategies ArXiv ID: 2306.13378 “View on arXiv” Authors: Unknown Abstract The Lillo-Mike-Farmer (LMF) model is an established econophysics model describing the order-splitting behaviour of institutional investors in financial markets. In the original article (LMF, Physical Review E 71, 066122 (2005)), LMF assumed the homogeneity of the traders’ order-splitting strategy and derived a power-law asymptotic solution to the order-sign autocorrelation function (ACF) based on several heuristic reasonings. This report proposes a generalised LMF model by incorporating the heterogeneity of traders’ order-splitting behaviour that is exactly solved without heuristics. We find that the power-law exponent in the order-sign ACF is robust for arbitrary heterogeneous intensity distributions. On the other hand, the prefactor in the ACF is very sensitive to heterogeneity in trading strategies and is shown to be systematically underestimated in the original homogeneous LMF model. Our work highlights that the ACF prefactor should be more carefully interpreted than the ACF power-law exponent in data analyses. ...