One Dimensional $n$ary Density Classification Using Two Cellular Automaton Rules

Abstract

Suppose each site on a one-dimensional chain with periodic boundary condition may take on any one of the states $0,1,..., n-1$, can you find out the most frequently occurring state using cellular automaton? Here, we prove that while the above density classification task cannot be resolved by a single cellular automaton, this task can be performed efficiently by applying two cellular automaton rules in succession.