Spatial pattern formation in asynchronous cellular automata with mass conservation

Suzudo, Tomoaki

Physica A, 343, p.185 - 200, 2004/11

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-4371(04)00857-X

This paper proposes a class of 2-dimensional asynchronous cellular automata with conservation of mass, for the formation of patterns in groups, and describes the merits given by this methodology. A cellular automaton rule causing a specified kind of pattern was designed manually. Thanks to this realistic modeling method reflecting nature, the mechanism of pattern formation was found to be similar to real chemical processes. A search technique using genetic algorithm is applied to find pattern-forming CAs, and it successfully find a few types of spontaneous pattern formations. This technique is expected to be applied to a wide range of potential studies related to self-organization.