The syntactic graph of a sofic shift is invariant under shift equivalence

International audienceWe de ne a new invariant for shift equivalence of so fic shifts. This invariant, that we call the syntactic graph of a so fic shift, is the directed acyclic graph of characteristic groups of the non null regular D-classes of the syntactic semigroup of the shift

A new algebraic invariant for weak equivalence of sofic subshifts

It is studied how taking the inverse image by a sliding block code affects the syntactic semigroup of a sofic subshift. Two independent approaches are used: ζ-semigroups as recognition structures for sofic subshifts, and relatively free profinite semigroups. A new algebraic invariant is obtained for weak equivalence of sofic subshifts, by determining which classes of sofic subshifts naturally defined by pseudovarieties of finite semigroups are closed under weak equivalence. Among such classes are the classes of almost finite type subshifts and aperiodic subshifts. The algebraic invariant is compared with other robust conjugacy invariants.Research programme AutoMathA of ESF; Pessoa bilateral project Egide/Grices 11113YM "Automata, profinite semigroups and symbolic dynamics"; FCT, grant SFRH/BD/24200/2005; POCI 2010; FS

A new algebraic invariant for weak equivalence of sofic subshifts

It is studied how taking the inverse image by a sliding block code affects the syntactic semigroup of a sofic subshift. Two independent approaches are used: ζ-semigroups as recognition structures for sofic subshifts, and relatively free profinite semigroups. A new algebraic invariant is obtained for weak equivalence of sofic subshifts, by determining which classes of sofic subshifts naturally defined by pseudovarieties of finite semigroups are closed under weak equivalence. Among such classes are the classes of almost finite type subshifts and aperiodic subshifts. The algebraic invariant is compared with other robust conjugacy invariants.Research programme AutoMathA of ESF; Pessoa bilateral project Egide/Grices 11113YM "Automata, profinite semigroups and symbolic dynamics"; FCT, grant SFRH/BD/24200/2005; POCI 2010; FS

A hierarchy of irreducible sofic shifts

International audienceWe define new subclasses of the class of irreducible sofic shifts. These classes form an infinite hierarchy where the lowest class is the class of almost finite type shifts introduced by B. Marcus. We give effective characterizations of these classes with the syntactic semigroups of the shifts

On subshift presentations

We consider partitioned graphs, by which we mean finite strongly connected directed graphs with a partitioned edge set ${\mathcal E} ={\mathcal E}^- \cup{\mathcal E}^+$. With additionally given a relation $\mathcal R$ between the edges in ${\mathcal E}^-$ and the edges in $\mathcal E^+$, and denoting the vertex set of the graph by ${\frak P}$, we speak of an an ${\mathcal R}$-graph ${\mathcal G}_{\mathcal R}({\frak P},{\mathcal E}^-,{\mathcal E}^+)$. From ${\mathcal R}$-graphs ${\mathcal G}_{\mathcal R}({\frak P},{\mathcal E}^-,{\mathcal E}^+)$ we construct semigroups (with zero) ${\mathcal S}_{\mathcal R}({\frak P}, {\mathcal E}^-,{\mathcal E}^+)$ that we call ${\mathcal R}$-graph semigroups. We describe a method of presenting subshifts by means of suitably structured labelled directed graphs $({\mathcal V}, \Sigma,\lambda)$ with vertex set ${\mathcal V}$, edge set $\Sigma$, and a label map that asigns to the edges in $\Sigma$ labels in an ${\mathcal R}$-graph semigroup ${\mathcal S}_{\mathcal R}({\frak P}, {\mathcal E}^-, {\mathcal E}^-)$. We call the presented subshift an ${\mathcal S}_{\mathcal R}({\frak P}, {\mathcal E}^-, {\mathcal E}^-)$-presentation. We introduce a Property $(B)$ and a Property (c), tof subshifts, and we introduce a notion of strong instantaneity. Under an assumption on the structure of the ${\mathcal R}$-graphs ${\mathcal G}_{\mathcal R}({\frak P},{\mathcal E}^-, {\mathcal E}^-)$ we show for strongly instantaneous subshifts with Property $(A)$ and associated semigroup ${\mathcal S}_{\mathcal R}({\frak P},{\mathcal E}^-,{\mathcal E}^-)$, that Properties $(B)$ and (c) are necessary and sufficient for the existence of an ${\mathcal S}_{\mathcal R}({\frak P}, {\mathcal E}^-,{\mathcal E}^-)$-presentation, to which the subshift is topologically conjugate,Comment: 33 page

Profinite Groups Associated to Sofic Shifts are Free

We show that the maximal subgroup of the free profinite semigroup associated by Almeida to an irreducible sofic shift is a free profinite group, generalizing an earlier result of the second author for the case of the full shift (whose corresponding maximal subgroup is the maximal subgroup of the minimal ideal). A corresponding result is proved for certain relatively free profinite semigroups. We also establish some other analogies between the kernel of the free profinite semigroup and the \J-class associated to an irreducible sofic shift