A NONLINEAR DYNAMICS PERSPECTIVE OF WOLFRAM'S NEW KIND OF SCIENCE PART VI: FROM TIME-REVERSIBLE ATTRACTORS TO THE ARROW OF TIME

Abstract

This paper proves, via an analytical approach, that 170 (out of 256) Boolean CA rules in a one-dimensional cellular automata (CA) are time-reversible in a generalized sense. The dynamics on each attractor of a time-reversible rule N is exactly mirrored, in both space and time, by its bilateral twin ruleN†. In particular, all 69 period-1 rules, 17 (out of 25) period-2 rules, and 84 (out of 112) Bernoulli rules are time-reversible. The remaining 86 CA rules are time-irreversible in the sense that N and N† mirror their dynamics only in space, but not in time. In this case, each attractor of N defines a unique arrow of time. A simple "time-reversal test" is given for testing whether an attractor of a CA rule is time-reversible or time-irreversible. For a time-reversible attractor of a CA rule N the past can be uniquely recovered from the future of N†, and vice versa. This remarkable property provides 170 concrete examples of CA time machines where time travel can be routinely achieved by merely hopping from one attractor to its bilateral twin attractor, and vice versa. Moreover, the time-reversal property of some local rules can be programmed to mimic the matter–antimatter "annihilation" or "pair-production" phenomenon from high-energy physics, as well as to mimic the "contraction" or "expansion" scenarios associated with the Big Bang from cosmology. Unlike the conventional laws of physics, which are based on a unique universe, most CA rules have multiple universes (i.e. attractors), each blessed with its own laws. Moreover, some CA rules are endowed with both time-reversible attractors and time-irreversible attractors. Using an analytical approach, the time-τ return map of each Bernoulli στ-shift attractor of all 112 Bernoulli rules are shown to obey an ultra-compact formula in closed form, namely,. [Formula: see text] or its inverse map. These maps completely characterize the time-asymptotic (steady state) behavior of the nonlinear dynamics on the attractors. In-depth analysis of all but 18 global equivalence classes of CA rules have been derived, along with their basins of attraction, which characterize their transient regimes. Above all, this paper provides a rigorous nonlinear dynamics foundation for a paradigm shift from an empirical-based approach à la Wolfram to an attractor-based analytical theory of cellular automata.