Minimizing a deterministic finite automata (DFA) is a very important problem in theory of automata and formal languages.Hopcroft's algorithm represents the fastest known solution to the such a problem. In this paper we analyze the behavior of this algorithm on a family binary automata, called tree-like automata, associated to binary labeled trees constructed by words. We prove that all the executions of the algorithm on tree-like automata associated to trees, constructed by standard words, have running time with the same asymptotic growth rate. In particular, we provide a lower and upper bound for the running time of the algorithm expressed in terms of combinatorial properties of the trees. We consider also tree-like automata associated to trees constructed by de Brujin words,and we prove that a queue implementation of the waiting set gives a Θ(n log n) execution while a stack implementation produces a linear execution. Such a result confirms the conjecture given in [A. Paun, M. Paun and A. Rodríguez-Patón. Theoret. Comput. Sci.410 (2009) 2424–2430.] formulated for a family of unary automata and, in addition, gives a positive answer also for the binary case.

We present an algorithm for computing the prefix of an automaton. Automata considered are non-deterministic, labelled on words, and can have ε-transitions. The prefix automaton of an automaton $\mathcal{A}$ has the following characteristic properties. It has the same graph as $\mathcal{A}$. Each accepting path has the same label as in $\mathcal{A}$. For each state q, the longest common prefix of the labels of all paths going from q to an initial or final state is empty. The interest of the computation of the prefix of an automaton is that it is the first step of the minimization of sequential transducers. The algorithm that we describe has the same worst case time complexity as another algorithm due to Mohri but our algorithm allows automata that have empty labelled cycles. If we denote by P(q) the longest common prefix of labels of paths going from q to an initial or final state, it operates in time O((P+1) × |E|) where P is the maximal length of all P(q).

We extend the simply typedλ-calculus with unbind and rebind primitiveconstructs. That is, a value can be a fragment of open code,which in order to be used should be explicitly rebound. Thismechanism nicely coexists with standard static binding. Themotivation is to provide an unifying foundation for mechanisms ofdynamic scoping, where the meaning of a name isdetermined at runtime, rebinding, such as dynamic updatingof resources and exchange of mobile code, and delegation,where an alternative action is taken if a binding is missing.Depending on the application scenario, we consider twoextensions which differ in the way type safety is guaranteed. Theformer relies on a combination of static and dynamic type checking.That is, rebind raises a dynamic error if for some variablethere is no replacing term or it has the wrong type. In the latter,this error is prevented by a purely static type system, at the priceof more sophisticated types.

We prove that the pseudovariety of monoids of Krohn-Rhodes complexity at most n is not finitely based for all n>0. More specifically, for each pair of positive integers n,k, we construct a monoid of complexity n+1, all of whose k-generated submonoids have complexity at most n.

We describe a sequent calculus μLJ with primitives for inductive andcoinductive datatypes and equip it with reduction rules allowing a sound translation ofGödel’s system T. We introduce the notion of a μ-closedcategory, relying on a uniform interpretation of open μLJformulas as strong functors. We show that any μ-closed category is asound model for μLJ. We then turn to the construction of a concreteμ-closed category based on Hyland-Ong game semantics. The model relieson three main ingredients: the construction of a general class of strong functors calledopen functors acting on the category of games and strategies, thesolution of recursive arena equations by exploiting cycles in arenas, andthe adaptation of the winning conditions of parity games to build initial algebras andterminal coalgebras for many open functors. We also prove a weak completeness result forthis model, yielding a normalisation proof for μLJ.

For every fixed-point expression e of alternation-depth r, we construct a new fixed-point expression e' of alternation-depth 2 and size ${\cal O}(r\cdot|e|)$. Expression e' is equivalent to e whenever operators are distributive and the underlying complete lattice has a co-continuous least upper bound. We alternation-depth but also w.r.t. the increase in size of the resulting expression.

Richomme asked the following question: what is the infimum of the real numbers α > 2 such that there exists an infinite word that avoids α-powers but contains arbitrarily large squares beginning at every position? We resolve this question in the case of a binary alphabet by showing that the answer is α = 7/3.

It is known that the weakly monotone restarting automata acceptexactly the growing context-sensitive languages. We introduce ameasure on the degree of weak monotonicity and show that thelanguage classes obtained in this way form strict hierarchies forthe various types of deterministic and nondeterministic restartingautomata without auxiliary symbols.

We study the relation between the standard two-way automata and more powerful devices, namely, two-way finite automata equipped with some $\ell$ additional “pebbles” that are movable along the input tape, but their use is restricted (nested) in a stack-like fashion. Similarly as in the case of the classical two-way machines, it is not known whether there exists a polynomial trade-off, in the number of states, between the nondeterministic and deterministic two-way automata with $\ell$ nested pebbles. However, we show that these two machine models are not independent: if there exists a polynomial trade-off for the classical two-way automata, then, for each $\ell$≥ 0, there must also exist a polynomial trade-off for the two-way automata with $\ell$ nested pebbles. Thus, we have an upward collapse (or a downward separation) from the classical two-way automata to more powerful pebble automata, still staying within the class of regular languages. The same upward collapse holds for complementation of nondeterministic two-way machines. These results are obtained by showing that each pebble machine can be, by using suitable inputs, simulated by a classical two-way automaton (and vice versa), with only a linear number of states, despite the existing exponential blow-up between the classical and pebble two-way machines.

We investigate the possibility of extending Chrobak normal form to the probabilisticcase. While in the nondeterministic case a unary automaton can be simulated by anautomaton in Chrobak normal form without increasing the number of the states in thecycles, we show that in the probabilistic case the simulation is not possible by keepingthe same number of ergodic states. This negative result is proved by considering thenatural extension to the probabilistic case of Chrobak normal form, obtained by replacingnondeterministic choices with probabilistic choices. We then propose a different kind ofnormal form, namely, cyclic normal form, which does not suffer from the same problem: weprove that each unary probabilistic automaton can be simulated by a probabilisticautomaton in cyclic normal form, with at most the same number of ergodic states. In thenondeterministic case there are trivial simulations between Chrobak normal form and cyclicnormal form, preserving the total number of states in the automata and in theircycles.

We show that the class of groups which have monoid presentations by means of finite special [λ]-confluent string-rewriting systems strictly contains the class of plain groups (the groups which are free products of a finitely generated free group and finitely many finite groups), and that any group which has an infinite cyclic central subgroup can be presented by such a string-rewriting system if and only if it is the direct product of an infinite cyclic group and a finite cyclic group.

We investigate the complexity of languages described by some expressions containing shuffle operator and intersection. We show that deciding whether the shuffle of two words has a nonempty intersection with a regular set (or fulfills some regular pattern) is NL-complete. Furthermore we show that the class of languages of the form $L\cap R$, with a shuffle language L and a regular language R, contains non-semilinear languages and does not form a family of mildly context- sensitive languages.

We prove that the subsets of that are S-recognizable for all abstract numeration systems S are exactly the 1-recognizable sets. This generalizes a result of Lecomte and Rigo in the one-dimensional setting.

We present several solutions to the Firing Squad Synchronization Problem on grid networks of different shapes. The nodes are finite state processors that work in unison with other processors and in synchronized discrete steps. The networks we deal with are: the line, the ring and the square. For all of these models we consider one- and two-way communication modes and we also constrain the quantity of information that adjacent processors can exchange at each step. We first present synchronization algorithms that work in time n2, nlogn, $n\sqrt n$, 2n, where n is a total number of processors. Synchronization methods are described through so called signals that are then used as building blocks to compose synchronization solutions for the cases that synchronization times are expressed by polynomials with nonnegative coefficients.

The (−β)-integers are natural generalisations of the β-integers, and thus of the integers, for negative real bases. When β is the analogue of a Parry number, we describe the structure of the set of (−β)-integers by a fixed point of an anti-morphism.

We consider the defect theorem in the context of labelled polyominoes, i.e., two-dimensional figures. The classical version of this property states that if a set of n words is not a code then the words can be expressed as a product of at most n - 1 words, the smaller set being a code. We survey several two-dimensional extensions exhibiting the boundaries where the theorem fails. In particular, we establish the defect property in the case of three dominoes (n × 1 or 1 × n rectangles).

The calculus of looping sequences is a formalism for describing theevolution of biological systems by means of term rewriting rules. Inthis paper we enrich this calculus with a type discipline whichpreserves some biological properties depending on the minimum andthe maximum number of elements of some type requested by the present elements. The typesystem enforces these properties and typed reductions guarantee thatevolution preserves them. As an example, we model the hemoglobinstructure and the equilibrium between cell death and division: typedreductions prevent undesirable behaviors.

We present an algorithm which for any aperiodic and primitive substitution outputs a finite representation of each special word in the shift space associated to that substitution, and determines when such representations are equivalent under orbit and shift tail equivalence. The algorithm has been implemented and applied in the study of certain new invariants for flow equivalence of substitutional dynamical systems.

Duplication is the replacement of a factor w within a word by ww. This operation can be used iteratively to generate languages starting from words or sets of words. By undoing duplications, one can eventually reach a square-free word, the original word's duplication root. The duplication root is unique, if the length of duplications is fixed. Based on these unique roots we define the concept of duplication code. Elementary properties are stated, then the conditions under which infinite duplication codes exist are fully characterized; the relevant parameters are the duplication length and alphabet size. Finally, some properties of the languages generated by duplication codes are investigated.

We provide an algorithm for listing all minimal 2-dominating sets of a tree of ordern in time 𝒪(1.3248n). This implies that every tree has at most1.3248n minimal 2-dominating sets. We also show that thisbound is tight.