Dokl. Akad.

Nauk SSSR
Tom 238 (1978), No. 6

Soviet Math. Dokl.

Vol. 19 (1978), No. 1

AN EXAMPLE OF A NONERGODIC ONE-DIMENSIONAL HOMOGENEOUS

RANDOM MEDIUM WITH POSITIVE TRANSITION PROBABILITIES
UDC 519.217.1
G. L. KURDJUMOV
A one-dimensional homogeneous random medium S^ (where y is the state-transition
function of the elements) is an infinite system of automata {s(-}, where / ranges over all the
integers, operating in discrete time t = 0, 1, 2, . . . . The state of automaton st at time f,
which we denote by s', is an element of a finite set X. It is determined with a certain probability by the states at time t - 1 of the automata s,-_ x, sp sj+x; namely, if the values of
s" are given for all i, u < t - 1, where we set s^zl = x, s,-"1 = x, s\+\ x", then'the
conditional probability s* = y is *py(x, x, x" ) and all the s* are conditionally independent.
The set S* ~ {s*} constitutes a Markov process. The values <py(x, x'r x") are called'transition probabilities. A similar definition for the case of an arbitrary number of dimensions is
set forth, for example, in [1].
A homogeneous random medium is called ergodic if the Markov process associated
with it has exactly one stationary measure. Intuitively, ergodicity means inability of the
medium to retain the memory of its initial state indefinitely and existence of a unique limiting
measure \x for all Sf (as t * ) outside of the dependence on the probability distribution
at t = 0.
In this note we present a theorem which refutes the ergodicity hypothesis advanced in
[1]. This hypothesis conjectured the ergodicity of every one-dimensional homogeneous
medium in which all the transition probabilities were strictly positive.
Nonergodic multidimensional homogeneous media were first constructed by A. Toom;
in his article [2] he introduced examples of operators (i.e., homogeneous media) of arbitrary
dimension greater than 1 in which all the state-transition probabilities of the elements were
positive'and which has an arbitrary finite number of linearly independent invariant measures.
B. Cirel'son [3] gave an example of a nonergodic one-dimensional inhomogeneous (in
space and in time) system of probabilistic automata in which all the transition probabilities
were greater than a certain positive e.
THEOREM. There exists a one-dimensional homogeneous random medium in which
aU the state-transition probabilities of the elements are strictly positive, but which has a set
of linearly independent invariant measures with the cardinality of the continuum.
By linear independence we understand the absence of finite or countable linear combinations of the measures concerned having positive coefficients but null sum.
In the proof of this theorem we use a method of modeling Turing machines [4]. Here
we give only a very concise informal description of the medium. A general approach to the
proof is similar to what is found in [2], [3]. First, one constructs a deterministic medium
AMS (MOS) subject classifications (1970). Primary 94A3S; Secondary 02F1S, 60J05.
Copyright 1978, American Mathematical Society
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~ 1
and indicates;the various "stable" states of this medium such that their output trajectories
never intersect; after this one proves that if all the transition probabilities of the'medium
so constructed are made positive by adding a sufficiently small independent random noise,
then the trajectories issuing from the stable initial states, as before, do not meet. This enable^ one to prove that to each stable state,corresponds its ownvinvariant measure; under
certain additional conditions one proves linear independence of those states. In our case
both the deterministic medium itself and its stable initial states are very complicated. We
will describe them simultaneously and depict all the constructions together.
Description of the construction. The construction in the large is an organized structure
of infinite length with an infinite number of hierarchiestof cell-like divisions. Cells of the first
level are just the elements of the medium* All cells of the second level are constructed out
of those of the first level and consist of two parts: a zone of difference and a reference,
directory. Along the edges a second-level cell is bordered by automata in the "bracket" -
state, among which a single head of a Turing machine freely moves.and^operates. The head
can never cross over the bracket of a neighbor but it can "look in" there, having sent its
"double" across the boundary, i.e., a similar head capable only of "looking in" somewhere
within the bounds of a cell and communicating about "what it sees" to its master. The .
general assignment of a cell is to make a comparison with an automaton similar,to those of
which it consists itself. For this a word is written in the zone of difference of the cell encoding the/state of one automaton, and the operation of the head consists in (and not only
in this, as we see in what follows) "investigating" with the aid of the doubles the contends
of the zones of difference of its nearest neighbors, comparing the set. of three words obtained with the information in the directory, and altering accordingly the contents of its
zone of difference. The process is repeated infinitely many times.
}
In order foi the entire system to be resistent to noise, all information is copied no
fewer, than,three times in constructing {he cells of the second level from those of the-first.
The head and brackets are also duplicated so that no single malfunction can prevent the,normal operation of all cells; it will be. corrected without a trace at the very next instant. The
magnitude of the noisein the medium is made small enough for the,probability of two .failures in an entire cell over the whole period of its operation to, be at most halftiie probability of failure of one element per unit of time. Thus the probability of incorrect -functioning
of a cell of the second level is at most half the probability of. incorrect operation of a cell
of first level.
In a completely analogous way cells of the third level are constructed from those of
the second, and from those cells of the fourth, etc. The probability of incorrect functioning
of a cell at each (i + l)th' level is at least two times less than the corresponding probability
for a cell at the ith level; on this account stability of the entire construction is achieved.
It should be mentioned that, according to the scheme described above, only code
failures can-be corrected, i.e., only those that do < not upset'the functioning.-of the cells
themselves but rather change the encoded states of the elements of the* medium'. For-the
correction of uncoded malfunctions in* the neighbors of,a cell, reliance is, by definition, on
"aggressiveness"the ability to "intrude into the-territory'\of the neighbor and to change
it in its own image in case it (the neighbor) is constructed differently. In order: to avoid
ambiguity, priority is introduced: the elements on the left can be "aggressive" relative to
those on the right but not conversely. Clearly a cell may become "aggressive" also under the
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influence of a group of failures occurring in it itself.

In order that this kind of "pathological aggression" might not be prolonged indefinitely,
special measures are introduced, aimed at curbing the speed of any (including positive) aggression and at localizing any pathologies. In particular, if a certain cell discovers that its neighbor on the right is,not constructed the same as it is, then it sends to its. destructor a special
signal, which attenuates at a fixed distance, equal to two cell lengths, erasing all information
there and creating two new, cells comprising only brackets along the borders and heads in the
appropriate states. The left one of the newly generated cells begins to observe the right one,
and tlje right one to mark the time; this continues throughout the next five periods. This
delay is necessary so that in case the aggressor is a single pathological cell, the left neighbor
is able to recognize the pathology in it and to destroy it before the resulting new cells acquire the power to "operate actively".
-Localization of the movement of a destructor (and hence of the zone of its destruction)
is achieved by degradation of the destructor itself according to the degree of its movement.
The states of the network elements associated with the destructors are indexed; the index of
a destructor is reduced at each step of its progress. The total number of possible indices is
equal to twice the length of a cell. In order not to bring about a contradiction when one
element of the medium is modeled by a cell (the length of a cell depends upon the structure
of tr\e medium, ,and therefore also upon the number of possible states of an element of it),
a special method of coding the destructive states is established. If each nondestructive state
is coded .by a word to which correspond definite places in the directory (all normal cells
have the same directory) indicating the required transitions from this state, then each state
corresponding to a destructor is coded by a word which, in the first place, is explicitly different from all codes of the nondestructive states and, in the second place, contains the
entry- of a natural number called the index of the destructor. The destructive state with
the largest index can be referred to in the directory not as an initial state, but as one to
which one must pass. The movement of a destructor of the highest level takes place also on
account of the process of aggression.
The result of agression is the birth of two new cells. These cells have a definite maturing
period. If in this time their parent is destroyed, they remain in a rudimentary state; but if
not, then after completing their period they copy his transition directory for themselves.
If in this pvent the parent cell (not having been destroyed) represents a destructor (at a unit
of the highest level) not -expiring and yet removed from it by a distance (equal to two cell
lengths), then the newly created cells require "aggressiveness", send out to their right neighbors a destructor and also begin to represent a destructor (at the highest level) themselves;
however, they note in their zones of difference that this destructor traverses one more step
of its path.
,If the parent,cell .represents a destructor proceeding through its entire, path, then the
right one of its "children" begins to represent a right bracket and aggression is not resumed.
In this case the .right one of the newly generated cells looks to the right, and if it discovers
an immature cell there, it rapidly becomes "aggressive" and starts for its-destructor. If there
proves to be ^a fully developed cell on the right of the newly created dells, then the right
one of those newly created compares the structure with its own. If coincidence is.detected,
then the newly generated cells acquire full development: they become "aggressive", fill out
their zones of difference, and the correction is completed in this cycle.
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i"

In case the newly created cells, having copied the directory of their parent, do not detect-similarity between themselves-and their'fully developed right neighbor, they-"freeze",
i.e., they'do not take on aggressiveness, and their zones of difference remain uncompleted.
If after this the double of a higher level is set in motion al6ng the cells in the form of a
singular wave from left to right and is driven in to the pair of "frozen" cells, then it vanishes;
from this its masterthe metacell '-on the left makes an inference about the necessity of
destroying all the corresponding metacells: In order for a*single failure not to be able to cause
destruction of a cell, while any failures insideja single cell would not'bring about destruction
of a metacell, etc., the destructors are duplicated in the'same way that all of the other'useful
information in the cells is duplicated.
The last questionthat of "search"is the question of recognition by the 'cells of uncoded malfunctions in their neighbors. This question is resolved as follows: the double sent'
into the territory of any cell "sees" not what is going on there at the present moment but
what has taken place immediately before, just as in self-photographya singular operatibn
which the head can undertake and during whi&h information contained in all the-working
elements of the cell is transferred 'to special trace registers, but'thednformation contained in
the head itself is'lost! Self-photography is performed each time after'the" conclusion of the
regular working cycle. It iS not difficult to see that iri such a system ho'overlooked deviation passes except those which quickly vanish of their own accord either because of*their
special nature or because of repeated failures.
We still require that each element of the'mediumstore the additional information 0 or
1, and in case at least two elements differing by this factor from all the remaining elements
of the cell arise inside'the ceil, the head would die out (which would lead to the'destructionof the whole cell).
'*
We now estimate the admissible value -of the' noise. Let T be the duration tof a period,
L the length of a cell (of first level), p the value'of the noise or probability of failure in a
single element at-one-instant. The* probability pLT of two failures in'a single cell during one
period is bounded, obviously, by the expression pLT < p2(LT)2l2. In order that the construction be stable, it is sufficient to require that p a d m < lj(LT)27where p a d m is the admissible value'of the noise.
"-
Th'ff property of having no gaps-in the set of stable construction^ is achieved by-the
fact that at each leVel of'moaeling its own value oftthe supplementary information 0"or l 1
can be stored (and equalized-within all-cells of that" level), the-'set of'Mvels'beihg'infinite.
Institute of Information Transmission
Received 2/NOV/77
* ,*1
M
Academy of Sciences of the USSR
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. N. B. Vasil'ev.'R. L. Dobrusin and I. I. Pjateckil-Sapiro, Soviet-Japanese Sympos. Probability
Theory (Habarovsk, 1969), Part p, Izdat. Sibirsjc. Otdel. Akad. Nauk SSSR^ Novosibirsk, 1969, p.. 3.
(Russian)
'2'J A. L. Toom, Problemy Peredaci InformaciilO (1976), no. 3, 70;*English transl. in Problems'
of Information Transmission 10 (1976).
,
3. B. S. Cirel'son, Interacting Markov Processes in Biology, Pusejno, 1977, p. 51,. (Russian)
4. G. L.fcurdjumov,Dokl.*"Akad. Nauic SSSR 238 (197*8), 1047; English transl*.'in Soviet Math.
Dokl. 19 (1978).
'
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Translated by R. N. GOSS