\(\sigma\)-Automata and Chebyshev-polynomials (Q1978501)

A \(\sigma\)-automaton is an additive, binary cellular automaton on a graph. For product graphs such as grids and cylinders, reversibility and periodicity properties of the corresponding \(\sigma\)-automaton can be expressed in terms of a binary version of Chebyshev polynomials. We give a detailed analysis of the divisibility properties of these polynomials and apply our results to the study of \(\sigma\)-automata.