Cellular automata that generate symmetrical patterns give singular functions

Abstract

In this paper, we mainly study linear one-dimensional and two-dimensional elementary cellular automata that generate symmetrical spatio-temporal patterns. For spatio-temporal patterns of cellular automata from the single site seed, we normalize the number of nonzero states of the patterns, take the limits, and give one-variable functions for the limit sets. We can obtain a one-variable function for each limit set and show that the resulting functions are singular functions, which are non-constant, are continuous everywhere, and have a zero derivative almost everywhere. We show that for Rule 90, a one-dimensional elementary cellular automaton (CA), and a two-dimensional elementary CA, the resulting functions are Salem’s singular functions. We also discuss two nonlinear elementary CAs, Rule 22 and Rule 126. Although their spatio-temporal patterns are different from that of Rule 90, their resulting functions from the number of nonzero states equal the function of Rule 90.