Computational Processes and Incompleteness

We introduce a formal definition of Wolfram's notion of computational process based on cellular automata, a physics-like model of computation. There is a natural classification of these processes into decidable, intermediate and complete. It is shown that in the context of standard finite injury priority arguments one cannot establish the existence of an intermediate computational process

On the Computational Complexity of Finite Cellular Automata

AbstractWe study the computational complexity of several problems with the evolution of configurations on finite cellular automata. In many cases, the problems turn out to be complete in their respective classes. For example, the problem of deciding whether a configuration has a predecessor is shown to be NLOG-complete for one-dimensional cellular automata. The problem is NP-complete for all dimensions higher than one. Similarly, the question whether a target configuration occurs in the orbit of a source configuration may be P-complete, NP-complete or PSPACE-complete, depending on the type of cellular automaton

Parametric ordering of complex systems

Cellular automata (CA) dynamics are ordered in terms of two global parameters, computable {\sl a priori} from the description of rules. While one of them (activity) has been used before, the second one is new; it estimates the average sensitivity of rules to small configurational changes. For two well-known families of rules, the Wolfram complexity Classes cluster satisfactorily. The observed simultaneous occurrence of sharp and smooth transitions from ordered to disordered dynamics in CA can be explained with the two-parameter diagram

Periodic harmonic functions on lattices and points count in positive characteristic

This survey addresses pluri-periodic harmonic functions on lattices with values in a positive characteristic field. We mention, as a motivation, the game "Lights Out" following the work of Sutner, Goldwasser-Klostermeyer-Ware, Barua-Ramakrishnan-Sarkar, Hunzikel-Machiavello-Park e.a.; see also 2 previous author's preprints for a more detailed account. Our approach explores harmonic analysis and algebraic geometry over a positive characteristic field. The Fourier transform allows us to interpret pluri-periods of harmonic functions on lattices as torsion multi-orders of points on the corresponding affine algebraic variety.Comment: These are notes on 13p. based on a talk presented during the meeting "Analysis on Graphs and Fractals", the Cardiff University, 29 May-2 June 2007 (a sattelite meeting of the programme "Analysis on Graphs and its Applications" at the Isaac Newton Institute from 8 January to 29 June 2007

Spectral properties of reversible one-dimensional cellular automata

Reversible cellular automata are invertible dynamical systems characterized by discreteness, determinism and local interaction. This article studies the local behavior of reversible one-dimensional cellular automata by means of the spectral properties of their connectivity matrices. We use the transformation of every one-dimensional cellular automaton to another of neighborhood size 2 to generalize the results exposed in this paper. In particular we prove that the connectivity matrices have a single positive eigenvalue equal to 1; based on this result we also prove the idempotent behavior of these matrices. The significance of this property lies in the implementation of a matrix technique for detecting whether a one-dimensional cellular automaton is reversible or not. In particular, we present a procedure using the eigenvectors of these matrices to find the inverse rule of a given reversible one-dimensional cellular automaton. Finally illustrative examples are provided

The size of power automata

We describe a class of simple transitive semiautomata that exhibit full exponential blow-up during deterministic simulation. For arbitrary semiautomata we show that it is PSPACE-complete to decide whether the size of the accessible part of their power automata exceeds a given bound.

IOS Press Cellular Automata and Intermediate Reachability Problems

Abstract. We exhibit one-dimensional cellular automata whose reachability and confluence problems have arbitrary r.e. degree of unsolvability