Deterministic Non-cooperative Binding in Two-Dimensional Tile Assembly Systems Must Have Ultimately Periodic Paths

TL;DR

This paper characterizes when deterministic, non-cooperative 2D tile assembly systems have ultimately periodic paths, showing that all infinite assemblies contain such paths and introducing a novel path combination technique.

Contribution

It provides a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of ultimately periodic paths in deterministic 2D tile assemblies, advancing understanding of their structural properties.

Findings

Infinite assemblies contain ultimately periodic paths.

A new path combination technique called co-grow is introduced.

Characterization of periodic paths in non-cooperative tile systems.

Abstract

We consider non-cooperative binding, so-called 'temperature 1', in deterministic or directed (called here confluent) tile self-assembly systems in two dimensions and show a necessary and sufficient condition for such system to have an ultimately periodic assembly path. We prove that an infinite maximal assembly has an ultimately periodic assembly path if and only if it contains an infinite assembly path that does not intersect a periodic path in the Z2 grid. Moreover we show that every infinite assembly must satisfy this condition, and therefore, contains an ultimately periodic path. This result is obtained through a super-position and a combination of two paths that produce a new path with desired properties, a technique that we call co-grow of two paths. The paper is an updated and improved version of the first part of arXiv 1901.08575.