Automaticity and Invariant Measures of Linear Cellular Automata

Abstract

AbstractWe show that spacetime diagrams of linear cellular automata $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6F7}:\,\mathbb{F}_{p}^{\mathbb{Z}}\rightarrow \mathbb{F}_{p}^{\mathbb{Z}}$ with $(-p)$-automatic initial conditions are automatic. This extends existing results on initial conditions that are eventually constant. Each automatic spacetime diagram defines a $(\unicode[STIX]{x1D70E},\unicode[STIX]{x1D6F7})$-invariant subset of $\mathbb{F}_{p}^{\mathbb{Z}}$, where $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70E}$ is the left shift map, and if the initial condition is not eventually periodic, then this invariant set is nontrivial. For the Ledrappier cellular automaton we construct a family of nontrivial $(\unicode[STIX]{x1D70E},\unicode[STIX]{x1D6F7})$-invariant measures on $\mathbb{F}_{3}^{\mathbb{Z}}$. Finally, given a linear cellular automaton $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6F7}$, we construct a nontrivial $(\unicode[STIX]{x1D70E},\unicode[STIX]{x1D6F7})$-invariant measure on $\mathbb{F}_{p}^{\mathbb{Z}}$ for all but finitely many $p$.