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Cellular Automata

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

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Synonyms

Tessellation automata

Definition

Cellular automata (CA) are dynamical systems in which space and time are discrete. A cellular automaton consists of an array of cells, each of which can be in one of a finite number of possible states, updated synchronously in discrete time steps, according to a local, identical interaction rule. The state of a cell at the next time step is determined by its own current state and the current states of a surrounding neighborhood of cells (Wolfram 1994).

Overview

Cellular automata were originally conceived by Ulam and von Neumann in the 1940s to provide a formal framework for investigating the behavior of complex, extended systems (von Neumann 1966). In particular, von Neumann asked whether we could use purely mathematical-logical considerations to discover the specific features of automata that make them formally analogous with self-constructing and self-replicating biological systems.

Thanks to their simplicity and appeal, over the years, CA...

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References and Further Reading

  • Chaudhuri PP, Chowdhury DR, Nandi S, Chattopadhyay S (1997) Additive cellular automata: theory and applications. IEEE Computer Society, Los Alamitos

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Information Systems Department, University of Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Marco Tomassini

Authors
  1. Marco Tomassini
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marco Tomassini .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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Tomassini, M. (2014). Cellular Automata. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_254-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_254-3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

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