Reversibility Problem of Multidimensional Finite Cellular Automata

Abstract

While the reversibility of multidimensional cellular automata is undecidable and there exists a criterion for determining if a multidimensional linear cellular automaton is reversible, there are only a few results about the reversibility problem of multidimensional linear cellular automata under boundary conditions. This work proposes a criterion for testing the reversibility of a multidimensional linear cellular automaton under null boundary condition and an algorithm for the computation of its reverse, if it exists. The investigation of the dynamical behavior of a multidimensional linear cellular automaton under null boundary condition is equivalent to elucidating the properties of the block Toeplitz matrix. The proposed criterion significantly reduces the computational cost whenever the number of cells or the dimension is large; the discussion can also apply to cellular automata under periodic boundary conditions with a minor modification.