An introduction to sequential dynamical systems (Q858566)

The book is a comprehensive introduction to sequential dynamical systems (SDS), i.e. a class of dynamical systems defined over graphs where the dynamics arise through functional composition of local dynamics. More appropriately, an SDS is a triple that consists of a finite graph \(Y\), where each vertex has a state taken from a finite set \(K\), a vertex-indexed sequence of \(Y\)-local maps \((F_{v,Y})_v\) of the form \(F_v:K^n\to K^n\), and a word \(w=w_1,\dots ,w_k\) over the vertex set of \(Y\). The associated dynamical system is given by the composition of the local maps \(F_{v,Y}\) in the order specified by \(w\). SDS generalize essentially the concept of, for example, cellula automata. In contrast to classical dynamical systems, the theory and analysis of SDS are based on an interplay of techniques from algebra, combinatorics, and discrete mathematics. The main research questions for SDS involve properties of the base graph, the local maps, and the ordering on the one hand, and the structure of the discrete phase space on the other hand. The contents of the book can be viewed from chapter titles. 1. What is a sequential dynamical system? 2. A comparative study. 3. Graphs, groups, and dynamical systems. 4. Sequential dynamical systems over permutations. 5. Phase-space structure of SDS and special systems. 6. Graphs, groups and SDS. 7. Combinatorics of sequential dynamical systems over words. 8. Outlook. Each chapter comes with exercises of different difficulty level from routine to unsolved. Many of exercises include full solutions. The book will be useful to graduate students and researches in discrete mathematics, dynamical systems, theoretical computer science, and systems engineering who are interested in analysis and modeling of network dynamics and computer simulations.