English

Scaled pier fractals do not strictly self-assemble

Computational Geometry 2014-06-18 v1

Abstract

A \emph{pier fractal} is a discrete self-similar fractal whose generator contains at least one \emph{pier}, that is, a member of the generator with exactly one adjacent point. Tree fractals and pinch-point fractals are special cases of pier fractals. In this paper, we study \emph{scaled pier fractals}, where a \emph{scaled fractal} is the shape obtained by replacing each point in the original fractal by a c×cc \times c block of points, for some cZ+c \in \mathbb{Z}^+. We prove that no scaled discrete self-similar pier fractal strictly self-assembles, at any temperature, in Winfree's abstract Tile Assembly Model.

Cite

@article{arxiv.1406.4197,
  title  = {Scaled pier fractals do not strictly self-assemble},
  author = {David Furcy and Scott M. Summers},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1406.4197},
  year   = {2014}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-22T04:39:48.653Z