A survey on the fusion process in opinion dynamics

Opinion dynamics is a fusion process of individual opinions, in which a group of interacting agents continuously fuse their opinions on the same issue based on established fusion rules to reach a consensus, polarization, or fragmentation in the final stage. To date, many studies have been conducted on opinion dynamics. To provide a clear perspective on the fusion process in opinion dynamics, this paper presents a review of the framework and formulation of opinion dynamics as well as some basic models, extensions, and applications. Based on the in-sights gained from prior studies, several open problems are proposed for future research.