6,859 research outputs found
A framework for the local information dynamics of distributed computation in complex systems
The nature of distributed computation has often been described in terms of
the component operations of universal computation: information storage,
transfer and modification. We review the first complete framework that
quantifies each of these individual information dynamics on a local scale
within a system, and describes the manner in which they interact to create
non-trivial computation where "the whole is greater than the sum of the parts".
We describe the application of the framework to cellular automata, a simple yet
powerful model of distributed computation. This is an important application,
because the framework is the first to provide quantitative evidence for several
important conjectures about distributed computation in cellular automata: that
blinkers embody information storage, particles are information transfer agents,
and particle collisions are information modification events. The framework is
also shown to contrast the computations conducted by several well-known
cellular automata, highlighting the importance of information coherence in
complex computation. The results reviewed here provide important quantitative
insights into the fundamental nature of distributed computation and the
dynamics of complex systems, as well as impetus for the framework to be applied
to the analysis and design of other systems.Comment: 44 pages, 8 figure
Memristive excitable cellular automata
The memristor is a device whose resistance changes depending on the polarity
and magnitude of a voltage applied to the device's terminals. We design a
minimalistic model of a regular network of memristors using
structurally-dynamic cellular automata. Each cell gets info about states of its
closest neighbours via incoming links. A link can be one 'conductive' or
'non-conductive' states. States of every link are updated depending on states
of cells the link connects. Every cell of a memristive automaton takes three
states: resting, excited (analog of positive polarity) and refractory (analog
of negative polarity). A cell updates its state depending on states of its
closest neighbours which are connected to the cell via 'conductive' links. We
study behaviour of memristive automata in response to point-wise and spatially
extended perturbations, structure of localised excitations coupled with
topological defects, interfacial mobile excitations and growth of information
pathways.Comment: Accepted to Int J Bifurcation and Chaos (2011
Cellular automaton supercolliders
Gliders in one-dimensional cellular automata are compact groups of
non-quiescent and non-ether patterns (ether represents a periodic background)
translating along automaton lattice. They are cellular-automaton analogous of
localizations or quasi-local collective excitations travelling in a spatially
extended non-linear medium. They can be considered as binary strings or symbols
travelling along a one-dimensional ring, interacting with each other and
changing their states, or symbolic values, as a result of interactions. We
analyse what types of interaction occur between gliders travelling on a
cellular automaton `cyclotron' and build a catalog of the most common
reactions. We demonstrate that collisions between gliders emulate the basic
types of interaction that occur between localizations in non-linear media:
fusion, elastic collision, and soliton-like collision. Computational outcomes
of a swarm of gliders circling on a one-dimensional torus are analysed via
implementation of cyclic tag systems
Upper Bound on the Products of Particle Interactions in Cellular Automata
Particle-like objects are observed to propagate and interact in many
spatially extended dynamical systems. For one of the simplest classes of such
systems, one-dimensional cellular automata, we establish a rigorous upper bound
on the number of distinct products that these interactions can generate. The
upper bound is controlled by the structural complexity of the interacting
particles---a quantity which is defined here and which measures the amount of
spatio-temporal information that a particle stores. Along the way we establish
a number of properties of domains and particles that follow from the
computational mechanics analysis of cellular automata; thereby elucidating why
that approach is of general utility. The upper bound is tested against several
relatively complex domain-particle cellular automata and found to be tight.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures, 3 tables,
http://www.santafe.edu/projects/CompMech/papers/ub.html V2: References and
accompanying text modified, to comply with legal demands arising from
on-going intellectual property litigation among third parties. V3: Accepted
for publication in Physica D. References added and other small changes made
per referee suggestion
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