Pulsing dynamics in randomly wired glider cellular automata

TL;DR

This paper investigates how random wiring in 3-value cellular automata with glider dynamics leads to spontaneous pulsing oscillations, revealing unique chaotic signatures and potential biological network implications.

Contribution

It demonstrates that random connections induce sustained pulsing in glider cellular automata, providing new insights into oscillatory behavior in complex networks.

Findings

Pulsing dynamics emerge spontaneously with random wiring.

Distinct waveform signatures are observed for each glider rule.

Chaotic signatures resemble strange attractors in phase space.

Abstract

Sustained rhythmic oscillations, pulsing dynamics, emerge spontaneously when the local connection scheme is randomised in 3-value cellular automata that feature"glider" dynamics. Time-plots of pulsing measures maintain a distinct waveform for each glider rule, and scatter plots of entropy/density and the density return-map show unique signatures, which have the characteristics of chaotic strange attractors. We present case studies, possible mechanisms, and implications for oscillatory networks in biology.