A NEW CLASS OF AUTOMATA NETWORKS

A new class of automata networks is defined. Their evolution rules are determined by a probability measure p on the set of all integers Z an d an indicator function I-A On the interval [0, 1]. It is shown that a ny cellular automaton rule can be represented by a (nonunique) rule fo rmulated in terms of a pair (p, I-A) This new class of automata networ ks contains discrete systems which are not cellular automata. For a gi ven p, a metric can be defined on the space of all rules which induces a metric on the space of all cellular automata rules.