The Enlightened Game of Life

Abstract

We investigate a special class of cellular automata (CA) evolving in a environment filled by an electromagnetic wave. The rules of the Conway's Game of Life are modified to account for the ability to retrieve life-sustenance from the field energy. Light-induced self-structuring and self-healing abilities and various dynamic phases are displayed by the CA. Photo-driven genetic selection and the nonlinear feedback of the CA on the electromagnetic field are included in the model, and there are evidences of self-organized light-localization processes. The evolution of the electromagnetic field is based on the Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) approach. Applications are envisaged in evolutionary biology, artificial life, DNA replication, swarming, optical tweezing and field-driven soft-matter.Comment: Revised and enlarged version. Added genetic selection and nonlinear feedback of the CA on the electromagnetic field. 12 pages, 13 figures. To appear in the book Game of Life Cellular Automata (Springer 2010, Andy Adamtzky ed.)