Propagation of Information in Populations of Self-Replicating Code

TL;DR

This paper studies how information spreads in populations of self-replicating code, comparing artificial systems with natural ones, and explores how factors like fitness, mutation rate, and system size influence propagation dynamics.

Contribution

It provides empirical analysis of information propagation in artificial self-replicating systems and compares results with reaction-diffusion theory, highlighting parallels with natural systems.

Findings

Propagation velocity depends on relative fitness.

Relaxation time relates to propagation speed and system size.

Minimal system size for observing non-equilibrium effects identified.

Abstract

We observe the propagation of information in a system of self-replicating strings of code (``Artificial Life'') as a function of fitness and mutation rate. Comparison with theoretical predictions based on the reaction-diffusion equation shows that the response of the artificial system to fluctuations (\eg velocity of the information wave as a function of relative fitness) closely follows that of natural systems. We find that the relaxation time of the system depends on the speed of propagation of information and the size of the system. This analysis offers the possibility of determining the minimal system size for observation of non-equilibrium effects at fixed mutation rate.