269 research outputs found
Complexity of Two-Dimensional Patterns
In dynamical systems such as cellular automata and iterated maps, it is often
useful to look at a language or set of symbol sequences produced by the system.
There are well-established classification schemes, such as the Chomsky
hierarchy, with which we can measure the complexity of these sets of sequences,
and thus the complexity of the systems which produce them.
In this paper, we look at the first few levels of a hierarchy of complexity
for two-or-more-dimensional patterns. We show that several definitions of
``regular language'' or ``local rule'' that are equivalent in d=1 lead to
distinct classes in d >= 2. We explore the closure properties and computational
complexity of these classes, including undecidability and L-, NL- and
NP-completeness results.
We apply these classes to cellular automata, in particular to their sets of
fixed and periodic points, finite-time images, and limit sets. We show that it
is undecidable whether a CA in d >= 2 has a periodic point of a given period,
and that certain ``local lattice languages'' are not finite-time images or
limit sets of any CA. We also show that the entropy of a d-dimensional CA's
finite-time image cannot decrease faster than t^{-d} unless it maps every
initial condition to a single homogeneous state.Comment: To appear in J. Stat. Phy
Weighted Tree Automata -- May it be a little more?
This is a book on weighted tree automata. We present the basic definitions
and some of the important results in a coherent form with full proofs. The
concept of weighted tree automata is part of Automata Theory and it touches the
area of Universal Algebra. It originated from two sources: weighted string
automata and finite-state tree automata
Logic Meets Algebra: the Case of Regular Languages
The study of finite automata and regular languages is a privileged meeting
point of algebra and logic. Since the work of Buchi, regular languages have
been classified according to their descriptive complexity, i.e. the type of
logical formalism required to define them. The algebraic point of view on
automata is an essential complement of this classification: by providing
alternative, algebraic characterizations for the classes, it often yields the
only opportunity for the design of algorithms that decide expressibility in
some logical fragment.
We survey the existing results relating the expressibility of regular
languages in logical fragments of MSO[S] with algebraic properties of their
minimal automata. In particular, we show that many of the best known results in
this area share the same underlying mechanics and rely on a very strong
relation between logical substitutions and block-products of pseudovarieties of
monoid. We also explain the impact of these connections on circuit complexity
theory.Comment: 37 page
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