Cellular Automata and Ultra-Discrete Painlev\'e Equations

Abstract

Starting from integrable cellular automata we present a novel form of Painlev\'e equations. These equations are discrete in both the independent variable and the dependent one. We show that they capture the essence of the behavior of the Painlev\'e equations organizing themselves into a coalescence cascade and possessing special solutions. A necessary condition for the integrability of cellular automata is also presented.