English

Scale-invariant cellular automata and self-similar Petri nets

Cellular Automata and Lattice Gases 2011-03-10 v3

Abstract

Two novel computing models based on an infinite tessellation of space-time are introduced. They consist of recursively coupled primitive building blocks. The first model is a scale-invariant generalization of cellular automata, whereas the second one utilizes self-similar Petri nets. Both models are capable of hypercomputations and can, for instance, "solve" the halting problem for Turing machines. These two models are closely related, as they exhibit a step-by-step equivalence for finite computations. On the other hand, they differ greatly for computations that involve an infinite number of building blocks: the first one shows indeterministic behavior whereas the second one halts. Both models are capable of challenging our understanding of computability, causality, and space-time.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.nlin/0606007,
  title  = {Scale-invariant cellular automata and self-similar Petri nets},
  author = {Martin Schaller and Karl Svozil},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:nlin/0606007},
  year   = {2011}
}

Comments

35 pages, 5 figures