Series which are both max-plus and min-plus rational are unambiguous

Consider partial maps from the free monoid into the field of real numbers with a rational domain. We show that two families of such series are actually the same: the unambiguous rational series on the one hand, and the max-plus and min-plus rational series on the other hand. The decidability of equality was known to hold in both families with different proofs, so the above unifies the picture. We give an effective procedure to build an unambiguous automaton from a max-plus automaton and a min-plus one that recognize the same series

The set of realizations of a max-plus linear sequence is semi-polyhedral

We show that the set of realizations of a given dimension of a max-plus linear sequence is a finite union of polyhedral sets, which can be computed from any realization of the sequence. This yields an (expensive) algorithm to solve the max-plus minimal realization problem. These results are derived from general facts on rational expressions over idempotent commutative semirings: we show more generally that the set of values of the coefficients of a commutative rational expression in one letter that yield a given max-plus linear sequence is a semi-algebraic set in the max-plus sense. In particular, it is a finite union of polyhedral sets

Reachability problems for products of matrices in semirings

We consider the following matrix reachability problem: given $r$ square matrices with entries in a semiring, is there a product of these matrices which attains a prescribed matrix? We define similarly the vector (resp. scalar) reachability problem, by requiring that the matrix product, acting by right multiplication on a prescribed row vector, gives another prescribed row vector (resp. when multiplied at left and right by prescribed row and column vectors, gives a prescribed scalar). We show that over any semiring, scalar reachability reduces to vector reachability which is equivalent to matrix reachability, and that for any of these problems, the specialization to any $r\geq 2$ is equivalent to the specialization to $r=2$. As an application of this result and of a theorem of Krob, we show that when $r=2$, the vector and matrix reachability problems are undecidable over the max-plus semiring $(Z\cup\{-\infty\},\max,+)$. We also show that the matrix, vector, and scalar reachability problems are decidable over semirings whose elements are ``positive'', like the tropical semiring $(N\cup\{+\infty\},\min,+)$.Comment: 21 page

Rational semimodules over the max-plus semiring and geometric approach of discrete event systems

We introduce rational semimodules over semirings whose addition is idempotent, like the max-plus semiring, in order to extend the geometric approach of linear control to discrete event systems. We say that a subsemimodule of the free semimodule S^n over a semiring S is rational if it has a generating family that is a rational subset of S^n, S^n being thought of as a monoid under the entrywise product. We show that for various semirings of max-plus type whose elements are integers, rational semimodules are stable under the natural algebraic operations (union, product, direct and inverse image, intersection, projection, etc). We show that the reachable and observable spaces of max-plus linear dynamical systems are rational, and give various examples.Comment: 24 pages, 9 postscript figures; example in section 4.3 expande

Varieties of Cost Functions.

Regular cost functions were introduced as a quantitative generalisation of regular languages, retaining many of their equivalent characterisations and decidability properties. For instance, stabilisation monoids play the same role for cost functions as monoids do for regular languages. The purpose of this article is to further extend this algebraic approach by generalising two results on regular languages to cost functions: Eilenberg's varieties theorem and profinite equational characterisations of lattices of regular languages. This opens interesting new perspectives, but the specificities of cost functions introduce difficulties that prevent these generalisations to be straightforward. In contrast, although syntactic algebras can be defined for formal power series over a commutative ring, no such notion is known for series over semirings and in particular over the tropical semiring

Automata and rational expressions

This text is an extended version of the chapter 'Automata and rational expressions' in the AutoMathA Handbook that will appear soon, published by the European Science Foundation and edited by JeanEricPin

Varieties of Cost Functions

Regular cost functions were introduced as a quantitative generalisation of regular languages, retaining many of their equivalent characterisations and decidability properties. For instance, stabilisation monoids play the same role for cost functions as monoids do for regular languages. The purpose of this article is to further extend this algebraic approach by generalising two results on regular languages to cost functions: Eilenberg\u27s varieties theorem and profinite equational characterisations of lattices of regular languages. This opens interesting new perspectives, but the specificities of cost functions introduce difficulties that prevent these generalisations to be straightforward. In contrast, although syntactic algebras can be defined for formal power series over a commutative ring, no such notion is known for series over semirings and in particular over the tropical semiring

Methods and Applications of (max,+) Linear Algebra

Projet META2Exotic semirings such as the ``$(\max,+)$ semiring'' $(\mathbb{R}\cup\{-\infty\},\max,+)$, or the ``tropical semiring'' $(\mathbb{N}\cup\{+\infty\},\min,+)$, have been invented and reinvented many times since the late fifties, in relation with various fields: performance evaluation of manufacturing systems and discrete event system theory; graph theory (path algebra) and Markov decision processes, Hamilton-Jacobi theory; asymptotic analysis (low temperature asymptotics in statistical physics, large deviations, WKB method); language theory (automata with multiplicities). Despite this apparent profusion, there is a small set of common, non-naive, basic results and problems, in general not known outside the $(\max,+)$ community, which seem to be useful in most applications. The aim of this short survey paper is to present what we believe to be the minimal core of $(\max,+)$ results, and to illustrate these results by typical applications, at the frontier of language theory, control, and operations research (performance evaluation of discrete event systems, analysis of Markov decision processes with average cost). Basic techniques include: solving all kinds of systems of linear equations, sometimes with exotic symmetrization and determinant techniques; using the $(\max,+)$ Perron-Frobenius theory to study the dynamics of $(\max,+)$ linear maps. We point out some open problems and current developments

An Extension Theorem with an Application to Formal Tree Series

A grove theory is a Lawvere algebraic theory T for which each hom-set T(n,p) is a commutative monoid; composition on the right distributes over all finite sums: (\sum f_i) . h = \sum f_i . h. A matrix theory is a grove theory in which composition on the left and right distributes over finite sums. A matrix theory M is isomorphic to a theory of all matrices over the semiring S = M(1,1). Examples of grove theories are theories of (bisimulation equivalence classes of) synchronization trees, and theories of formal tree series over a semiring S . Our main theorem states that if T is a grove theory which has a matrix subtheory M which is an iteration theory, then, under certain conditions, the fixed point operation on M can be extended in exactly one way to a fixed point operation on T such that T is an iteration theory. A second theorem is a Kleene-type result. Assume that T is an iteration grove theory and M is a sub iteration grove theory of T which is a matrix theory. For a given collection Sigma of scalar morphisms in T we describe the smallest sub iteration grove theory of T containing all the morphisms in M union Sigma