Modeling information diffusion using combined methods of percolation and cellular automata

Abstract

We performed simulation of information diffusion by use of combine methods of percolation and cellular automata. Two cases were considered. The first case involves the presence of immobile elements within the lattice for the whole time the simulation is running. Information is passed from an informed element to neighboring elements at the sides, and top and bottom. The second case involves elements that are free to move to other places in the lattice. The rule of passing information is the same as in the first case. The two resulting graphs of total time of information diffusion with respect to probability of occupancy, ρ of lattice sites for the two cases are relatively the opposite of one another. For the first case, the maximum time of information diffusion occurs for a certain critical ρ of about 0.60 and the associated minimum time occurs for positive ρ near zero. For the second case, the time of information diffusion essentially maximizes at the neighborhood of ρ = 0 and minimizes at about the critical ρ of the first case.