Path sets in one-sided symbolic dynamics

Path sets are spaces of one-sided infinite symbol sequences associated to pointed graphs (G_v_0), which are edge-labeled directed graphs G with a distinguished vertex v_0. Such sets arise naturally as address labels in geometric fractal constructions and in other contexts. The resulting set of symbol sequences need not be closed under the one-sided shift. this paper establishes basic properties of the structure and symbolic dynamics of path sets, and shows they are a strict generalization of one-sided sofic shifts.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures; v2, 22pages, 6 figures; title change, adds a new Theorem 1.5, and a second Appendix, v3, 21 pages, revisions to exposition; v4 revised introduction; v5, 22 pages, changed title, revised introductio

On the Sets of Real Numbers Recognized by Finite Automata in Multiple Bases

This article studies the expressive power of finite automata recognizing sets of real numbers encoded in positional notation. We consider Muller automata as well as the restricted class of weak deterministic automata, used as symbolic set representations in actual applications. In previous work, it has been established that the sets of numbers that are recognizable by weak deterministic automata in two bases that do not share the same set of prime factors are exactly those that are definable in the first order additive theory of real and integer numbers. This result extends Cobham's theorem, which characterizes the sets of integer numbers that are recognizable by finite automata in multiple bases. In this article, we first generalize this result to multiplicatively independent bases, which brings it closer to the original statement of Cobham's theorem. Then, we study the sets of reals recognizable by Muller automata in two bases. We show with a counterexample that, in this setting, Cobham's theorem does not generalize to multiplicatively independent bases. Finally, we prove that the sets of reals that are recognizable by Muller automata in two bases that do not share the same set of prime factors are exactly those definable in the first order additive theory of real and integer numbers. These sets are thus also recognizable by weak deterministic automata. This result leads to a precise characterization of the sets of real numbers that are recognizable in multiple bases, and provides a theoretical justification to the use of weak automata as symbolic representations of sets.Comment: 17 page