85 research outputs found
A Coloring Problem for Sturmian and Episturmian Words
We consider the following open question in the spirit of Ramsey theory: Given
an aperiodic infinite word , does there exist a finite coloring of its
factors such that no factorization of is monochromatic? We show that such a
coloring always exists whenever is a Sturmian word or a standard
episturmian word
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
A characterization of fine words over a finite alphabet
To any infinite word w over a finite alphabet A we can associate two infinite
words min(w) and max(w) such that any prefix of min(w) (resp. max(w)) is the
lexicographically smallest (resp. greatest) amongst the factors of w of the
same length. We say that an infinite word w over A is "fine" if there exists an
infinite word u such that, for any lexicographic order, min(w) = au where a =
min(A). In this paper, we characterize fine words; specifically, we prove that
an infinite word w is fine if and only if w is either a "strict episturmian
word" or a strict "skew episturmian word''. This characterization generalizes a
recent result of G. Pirillo, who proved that a fine word over a 2-letter
alphabet is either an (aperiodic) Sturmian word, or an ultimately periodic (but
not periodic) infinite word, all of whose factors are (finite) Sturmian.Comment: 16 pages; presented at the conference on "Combinatorics, Automata and
Number Theory", Liege, Belgium, May 8-19, 2006 (to appear in a special issue
of Theoretical Computer Science
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
Directive words of episturmian words: equivalences and normalization
Episturmian morphisms constitute a powerful tool to study episturmian words.
Indeed, any episturmian word can be infinitely decomposed over the set of pure
episturmian morphisms. Thus, an episturmian word can be defined by one of its
morphic decompositions or, equivalently, by a certain directive word. Here we
characterize pairs of words directing a common episturmian word. We also
propose a way to uniquely define any episturmian word through a normalization
of its directive words. As a consequence of these results, we characterize
episturmian words having a unique directive word.Comment: 15 page
On the number of return words in infinite words with complexity 2n+1
In this article, we count the number of return words in some infinite words
with complexity 2n+1. We also consider some infinite words given by codings of
rotation and interval exchange transformations on k intervals. We prove that
the number of return words over a given word w for these infinite words is
exactly k.Comment: see also http://liafa.jussieu.fr/~vuillon/articles.htm
Open and Closed Prefixes of Sturmian Words
A word is closed if it contains a proper factor that occurs both as a prefix
and as a suffix but does not have internal occurrences, otherwise it is open.
We deal with the sequence of open and closed prefixes of Sturmian words and
prove that this sequence characterizes every finite or infinite Sturmian word
up to isomorphisms of the alphabet. We then characterize the combinatorial
structure of the sequence of open and closed prefixes of standard Sturmian
words. We prove that every standard Sturmian word, after swapping its first
letter, can be written as an infinite product of squares of reversed standard
words.Comment: To appear in WORDS 2013 proceeding
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