602 research outputs found
Relation between powers of factors and recurrence function characterizing Sturmian words
In this paper we use the relation of the index of an infinite aperiodic word
and its recurrence function to give another characterization of Sturmian words.
As a byproduct, we give a new proof of theorem describing the index of a
Sturmian word in terms of the continued fraction expansion of its slope. This
theorem was independently proved by Carpi and de Luca, and Damanik and Lenz.Comment: 11 page
On the Structure of Bispecial Sturmian Words
A balanced word is one in which any two factors of the same length contain
the same number of each letter of the alphabet up to one. Finite binary
balanced words are called Sturmian words. A Sturmian word is bispecial if it
can be extended to the left and to the right with both letters remaining a
Sturmian word. There is a deep relation between bispecial Sturmian words and
Christoffel words, that are the digital approximations of Euclidean segments in
the plane. In 1997, J. Berstel and A. de Luca proved that \emph{palindromic}
bispecial Sturmian words are precisely the maximal internal factors of
\emph{primitive} Christoffel words. We extend this result by showing that
bispecial Sturmian words are precisely the maximal internal factors of
\emph{all} Christoffel words. Our characterization allows us to give an
enumerative formula for bispecial Sturmian words. We also investigate the
minimal forbidden words for the language of Sturmian words.Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1204.167
Extremal properties of (epi)Sturmian sequences and distribution modulo 1
Starting from a study of Y. Bugeaud and A. Dubickas (2005) on a question in
distribution of real numbers modulo 1 via combinatorics on words, we survey
some combinatorial properties of (epi)Sturmian sequences and distribution
modulo 1 in connection to their work. In particular we focus on extremal
properties of (epi)Sturmian sequences, some of which have been rediscovered
several times
A Characterization of Bispecial Sturmian Words
A finite Sturmian word w over the alphabet {a,b} is left special (resp. right
special) if aw and bw (resp. wa and wb) are both Sturmian words. A bispecial
Sturmian word is a Sturmian word that is both left and right special. We show
as a main result that bispecial Sturmian words are exactly the maximal internal
factors of Christoffel words, that are words coding the digital approximations
of segments in the Euclidean plane. This result is an extension of the known
relation between central words and primitive Christoffel words. Our
characterization allows us to give an enumerative formula for bispecial
Sturmian words. We also investigate the minimal forbidden words for the set of
Sturmian words.Comment: Accepted to MFCS 201
Distributing Labels on Infinite Trees
Sturmian words are infinite binary words with many equivalent definitions:
They have a minimal factor complexity among all aperiodic sequences; they are
balanced sequences (the labels 0 and 1 are as evenly distributed as possible)
and they can be constructed using a mechanical definition. All this properties
make them good candidates for being extremal points in scheduling problems over
two processors. In this paper, we consider the problem of generalizing Sturmian
words to trees. The problem is to evenly distribute labels 0 and 1 over
infinite trees. We show that (strongly) balanced trees exist and can also be
constructed using a mechanical process as long as the tree is irrational. Such
trees also have a minimal factor complexity. Therefore they bring the hope that
extremal scheduling properties of Sturmian words can be extended to such trees,
as least partially. Such possible extensions are illustrated by one such
example.Comment: 30 pages, use pgf/tik
Characterizations of finite and infinite episturmian words via lexicographic orderings
In this paper, we characterize by lexicographic order all finite Sturmian and
episturmian words, i.e., all (finite) factors of such infinite words.
Consequently, we obtain a characterization of infinite episturmian words in a
"wide sense" (episturmian and episkew infinite words). That is, we characterize
the set of all infinite words whose factors are (finite) episturmian.
Similarly, we characterize by lexicographic order all balanced infinite words
over a 2-letter alphabet; in other words, all Sturmian and skew infinite words,
the factors of which are (finite) Sturmian.Comment: 18 pages; to appear in the European Journal of Combinatoric
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