On the number of factors of Sturmian words

AbstractWe prove that for m⩾1, card(Am) = 1+∑mi=1 (m−i+1)ϕ(i) where Am is the set of factors of length m of all the Sturmian words and ϕ is the Euler function. This result was conjectured by Dulucq and Gouyou-Beauchamps (1987) who proved that this result implies that the language (∪m⩾0Am)c is inherently ambiguous. We also give a combinatorial version of the Riemann hypothesis

Complexity and growth for polygonal billiards

We establish a relationship between the word complexity and the number of generalized diagonals for a polygonal billiard. We conclude that in the rational case the complexity function has cubic upper and lower bounds. In the tiling case the complexity has cubic asymptotic growth.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

A new geometric approach to Sturmian words

We introduce a new geometric approach to Sturmian words by means of a mapping that associates certain lines in the n x n -grid and sets of finite Sturmian words of length n. Using this mapping, we give new proofs of the formulas enumerating the finite Sturmian words and the palindromic finite Sturmian words of a given length. We also give a new proof for the well-known result that a factor of a Sturmian word has precisely two return words.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures. A preprint of a paper to appear in Theoretical Computer Scienc

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

Supercritical holes for the doubling map

For a map $S:X\to X$ and an open connected set ($=$ a hole) $H\subset X$ we define $\mathcal J_H(S)$ to be the set of points in $X$ whose $S$-orbit avoids $H$. We say that a hole $H_0$ is supercritical if (i) for any hole $H$ such that $\bar{H_0}\subset H$ the set $\mathcal J_H(S)$ is either empty or contains only fixed points of $S$; (ii) for any hole $H$ such that \barH\subset H_0 the Hausdorff dimension of $\mathcal J_H(S)$ is positive. The purpose of this note to completely characterize all supercritical holes for the doubling map $Tx=2x\bmod1$.Comment: This is a new version, where a full characterization of supercritical holes for the doubling map is obtaine

The number of binary rotation words

We consider binary rotation words generated by partitions of the unit circle to two intervals and give a precise formula for the number of such words of length n. We also give the precise asymptotics for it, which happens to be O(n^4). The result continues the line initiated by the formula for the number of all Sturmian words obtained by Lipatov in 1982, then independently by Berenstein, Kanal, Lavine and Olson in 1987, Mignosi in 1991, and then with another technique by Berstel and Pocchiola in 1993.Comment: Submitted to RAIRO IT

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

The complexity of tangent words

In a previous paper, we described the set of words that appear in the coding of smooth (resp. analytic) curves at arbitrary small scale. The aim of this paper is to compute the complexity of those languages.Comment: In Proceedings WORDS 2011, arXiv:1108.341