On formal inverse of the Prouhet-Thue-Morse sequence

Let $p$ be a prime number and consider a $p$-automatic sequence ${\bf u}=(u_{n})_{n\in\N}$ and its generating function $U(X)=\sum_{n=0}^{\infty}u_{n}X^{n}\in\mathbb{F}_{p}[[X]]$. Moreover, let us suppose that $u_{0}=0$ and $u_{1}\neq 0$ and consider the formal power series $V\in\mathbb{F}_{p}[[X]]$ which is a compositional inverse of $U(X)$, i.e., $U(V(X))=V(U(X))=X$. In this note we initiate the study of arithmetic properties of the sequence of coefficients of the power series $V(X)$. We are mainly interested in the case when $u_{n}=t_{n}$, where $t_{n}=s_{2}(n)\pmod{2}$ and ${\bf t}=(t_{n})_{n\in\N}$ is the Prouhet-Thue-Morse sequence defined on the two letter alphabet $\{0,1\}$. More precisely, we study the sequence ${\bf c}=(c_{n})_{n\in\N}$ which is the sequence of coefficients of the compositional inverse of the generating function of the sequence ${\bf t}$. This sequence is clearly 2-automatic. We describe the sequence ${\bf a}$ characterizing solutions of the equation $c_{n}=1$. In particular, we prove that the sequence ${\bf a}$ is 2-regular. We also prove that an increasing sequence characterizing solutions of the equation $c_{n}=0$ is not $k$-regular for any $k$. Moreover, we present a result concerning some density properties of a sequence related to ${\bf a}$.Comment: 16 pages; revised version will appear in Discrete Mathematic

Formal inverses of the generalized Thue-Morse sequences and variations of the Rudin-Shapiro sequence

A formal inverse of a given automatic sequence (the sequence of coefficients of the composition inverse of its associated formal power series) is also automatic. The comparison of properties of the original sequence and its formal inverse is an interesting problem. Such an analysis has been done before for the Thue{Morse sequence. In this paper, we describe arithmetic properties of formal inverses of the generalized Thue-Morse sequences and formal inverses of two modifications of the Rudin{Shapiro sequence. In each case, we give the recurrence relations and the automaton, then we analyze the lengths of strings of consecutive identical letters as well as the frequencies of letters. We also compare the obtained results with the original sequences.Comment: 20 page

Words and Transcendence

Is it possible to distinguish algebraic from transcendental real numbers by considering the $b$-ary expansion in some base $b\ge2$? In 1950, \'E. Borel suggested that the answer is no and that for any real irrational algebraic number $x$ and for any base $g\ge2$, the $g$-ary expansion of $x$ should satisfy some of the laws that are shared by almost all numbers. There is no explicitly known example of a triple $(g,a,x)$, where $g\ge3$ is an integer, $a$ a digit in $\{0,...,g-1\}$ and $x$ a real irrational algebraic number, for which one can claim that the digit $a$ occurs infinitely often in the $g$-ary expansion of $x$. However, some progress has been made recently, thanks mainly to clever use of Schmidt's subspace theorem. We review some of these results

Surprises in aperiodic diffraction

Mathematical diffraction theory is concerned with the diffraction image of a given structure and the corresponding inverse problem of structure determination. In recent years, the understanding of systems with continuous and mixed spectra has improved considerably. Moreover, the phenomenon of homometry shows various unexpected new facets. Here, we report on some of the recent results in an exemplary and informal fashion.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure; paper presented at Aperiodic 2009 (Liverpool

Composition inverses of the variations of the Baum-Sweet sequence

Studying and comparing arithmetic properties of a given automatic sequence and the sequence of coefficients of the composition inverse of the associated formal power series (the formal inverse of that sequence) is an interesting problem. This problem was studied before for the Thue-Morse sequence. In this paper, we study arithmetic properties of the formal inverses of two sequences closely related to the well-known Baum-Sweet sequence. We give the recurrence relations for their formal inverses and we determine whether the sequences of indices at which these formal inverses take value $0$ and $1$ are regular. We also show an unexpected connection between one of the obtained sequences and the formal inverse of the Thue-Morse sequence.Comment: 25 page