A local stochastic algorithm for separation in heterogeneous self-organizing particle systems

Sarah Cannon, Joshua J. Daymude, Cem Gökmen, Dana Randall, Andréa W. Richa

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

We present and rigorously analyze the behavior of a distributed, stochastic algorithm for separation and integration in self-organizing particle systems, an abstraction of programmable matter. Such systems are composed of individual computational particles with limited memory, strictly local communication abilities, and modest computational power. We consider heterogeneous particle systems of two different colors and prove that these systems can collectively separate into different color classes or integrate, indifferent to color. We accomplish both behaviors with the same fully distributed, local, stochastic algorithm. Achieving separation or integration depends only on a single global parameter determining whether particles prefer to be next to other particles of the same color or not; this parameter is meant to represent external, environmental influences on the particle system. The algorithm is a generalization of a previous distributed, stochastic algorithm for compression (PODC’16) that can be viewed as a special case of separation where all particles have the same color. It is significantly more challenging to prove that the desired behavior is achieved in the heterogeneous setting, however, even in the bichromatic case we focus on. This requires combining several new techniques, including the cluster expansion from statistical physics, a new variant of the bridging argument of Miracle, Pascoe and Randall (RANDOM’11), the high-temperature expansion of the Ising model, and careful probabilistic arguments.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationApproximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques, APPROX/RANDOM 2019
EditorsDimitris Achlioptas, Laszlo A. Vegh
PublisherSchloss Dagstuhl- Leibniz-Zentrum fur Informatik GmbH, Dagstuhl Publishing
ISBN (Electronic)9783959771252
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2019
Event22nd International Conference on Approximation Algorithms for Combinatorial Optimization Problems and 23rd International Conference on Randomization and Computation, APPROX/RANDOM 2019 - Cambridge, United States
Duration: Sep 20 2019Sep 22 2019

Publication series

NameLeibniz International Proceedings in Informatics, LIPIcs
Volume145
ISSN (Print)1868-8969

Conference

Conference22nd International Conference on Approximation Algorithms for Combinatorial Optimization Problems and 23rd International Conference on Randomization and Computation, APPROX/RANDOM 2019
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityCambridge
Period9/20/199/22/19

Keywords

  • Cluster expansion
  • Markov chains
  • Programmable matter

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Software

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