International Journal of Foundations of Computer Science

We argue that dynamical systems involving discrete and continuous data can be modelled by Turing machines with oracles that are physical processes. Using the theory introduced in Beggs et al. [2,3], we consider the scope and limits of polynomial time computations by such systems. We propose a general polynomial time Church-Turing Thesis for feasible computations by analogue-digital systems, having the non-uniform complexity class BPP//log* as theoretical upper bound. We show why BPP//log* should be replace P/poly, which was proposed by Siegelmann for neural nets [23,24]. Then we examine whether other sources of hypercomputation can be found in analogue-digital systems besides the oracle itself. We prove that the higher polytime limit P/poly can be attained via non-computable analogue-digital interface protocols.

P automata are variants of symport/antiport membrane systems which describe string languages by applying a mapping to the sequence of multisets entering the system during computations. In this paper, we study their computational power in the case when the input mapping associates each input multiset with the set of strings consisting of all permutations of its elements. We show that P automata of this type are strictly less powerful than so-called restricted logarithmic space Turing machines, and we also exhibit a strict infinite hierarchy within the accepted language class based on the number of membranes present in the system.

We use various laws of classical physics to offer several solutions of Yao's millionaires' problem without using any one-way functions. We also describe several informationally secure public key encryption protocols, i.e., protocols secure against passive computationally unbounded adversary. This introduces a new paradigm of decoy-based cryptography, as opposed to “traditional” complexity-based cryptography. In particular, our protocols do not employ any one-way functions.

Patterned self-assembly is a process whereby coloured tiles self-assemble to build a rectangular coloured pattern. We propose self-assembly (SA) hypergraph automata as an automata-theoretic model for patterned self-assembly. We investigate the computational power of SA-hypergraph automata and show that for every recognizable picture language, there exists an SA-hypergraph automaton that accepts this language. Conversely, we prove that for any restricted SA-hypergraph automaton, there exists a Wang Tile System, a model for recognizable picture languages, that accepts the same language. The advantage of SA-hypergraph automata over Wang automata, acceptors for the class of recognizable picture languages, is that they do not rely on an a priori defined scanning strategy.

Reaction systems are a model of computation inspired by biochemical reactions involving reactants, inhibitors and products from a finite background set. We define a notion of multi-step simulation among reaction systems and derive a classification with respect to the amount of resources (reactants and inhibitors) involved in each reaction. We prove that “simple” reaction systems, having at most one reactant and one inhibitor per reaction, suffice in order to simulate arbitrary systems. Finally, we show that the equivalence relation of mutual simulation induces exactly five linearly ordered classes of reaction systems characterizing well-known subclasses of the functions over Boolean lattices, such as the constant, additive (join-semilattice endomorphisms), monotone, and antitone functions.

In this paper we demonstrate the power of a model of tile self-assembly based on active glues which can dynamically change state. We formulate the Signal-passing Tile Assembly Model (STAM), based on the model of Padilla et al. [24] to be asynchronous, allowing any action of turning a glue on or off, attaching a new tile, or breaking apart an assembly to happen in any order. Within this highly generalized model we provide three new solutions to tile self-assembly problems that have been addressed within the abstract Tile Assembly Model and its variants, showing that signal passing tiles allow for substantial improvement across multiple complexity metrics. Our first result utilizes a recursive assembly process to achieve tile-type efficient assembly of linear structures, using provably fewer tile types than what is possible in standard tile assembly models. Our second system of signal-passing tiles simulates any Turing machine with high fuel efficiency by using only a constant number of tiles per computation step. Our third system assembles the discrete Sierpinski triangle, demonstrating that this pattern can be strictly self-assembled within the STAM. This result is of particular interest in that it is known that this pattern cannot self-assemble within a number of well studied tile self-assembly models. Notably, all of our constructions are at temperature 1, further demonstrating that signal-passing confers the power to bypass many restrictions found in standard tile assembly models.

We are interested in fundamental limits to computation imposed by physical constraints. In particular, the physical laws of motion constrain the speed at which a computer can transition between well-defined states. Here, we discuss speed limits in the context of quantum computing. We review some relevant parts of the theory of Finsler metrics on Lie groups and homogeneous spaces such as the special unitary groups and complex projective spaces. We show how these constructions can be applied to analysing the limit to the speed of quantum information processing operations in constrained quantum systems with finite dimensional Hilbert spaces of states. We demonstrate the approach applied to a spin chain system.

Labs-on-chips are promising candidates for the realization of chemical information systems, where data are embodied in the form of chemical concentrations. In this paper we present the concept of microchemomechanical systems, a lab-on-a-chip technology based on intrinsically active components. The active components are chemical transistors fabricated from phase-changeable polymers that provide a direct feedback mechanism. Therefore this microfluidic platform facilitates the realization of logic operations, if-then structures and the sampling of chemical signals. In analogy with electronic von Neumann CPUs, control and execution unit are integrated on a single chip. Due to the intrinsic activity of the chemical transistors and their small size, microchemomechanical systems are highly suitable for large-scale integration.