Introducing Lyapunov profiles of cellular automata

Abstract

In line with the stability theory of continuous dynamical systems, Lyapunov exponents of cellular automata (CAs) have been conceived two decades ago to quantify to what extent their dynamics changes following a perturbation of their initial configuration. More precisely, Lyapunov exponents of CAs have either been understood as the rate by which the resulting defect cone widens as these dynamical systems are evolved from a perturbed initial configuration, or as the rate by which defects accumulate during their evolution. The former viewpoint yields insight into the extent of the affected region, whereas the latter tells us something about the intensity of the defect propagation. In this paper, we will show how these viewpoints can be united by relying on Lyapunov profiles of CAs.