A Faster Exact Algorithm for the Directed Maximum Leaf Spanning Tree Problem

Given a directed graph $G=(V,A)$, the Directed Maximum Leaf Spanning Tree problem asks to compute a directed spanning tree (i.e., an out-branching) with as many leaves as possible. By designing a Branch-and-Reduced algorithm combined with the Measure & Conquer technique for running time analysis, we show that the problem can be solved in time \Oh^*(1.9043^n) using polynomial space. Hitherto, there have been only few examples. Provided exponential space this run time upper bound can be lowered to \Oh^*(1.8139^n)

minimum dominating set of queens: A trivial programming exercise?

Abstractminimum dominating set of queens is one of the typical programming exercises of a first year’s computer science course. However, little work has been published on the complexity of this problem. We analyse here several algorithms and show that advanced algorithmic techniques may dramatically speed up solving this problem

Accepting grammars and systems

We investigate several kinds of regulated rewriting (programmed, matrix, with regular control, ordered, and variants thereof) and of parallel rewriting mechanisms (Lindenmayer systems, uniformly limited Lindenmayer systems, limited Lindenmayer systems and scattered context grammars) as accepting devices, in contrast with the usual generating mode. In some cases, accepting mode turns out to be just as powerful as generating mode, e.g. within the grammars of the Chomsky hierarchy, within random context, regular control, L systems, uniformly limited L systems, scattered context. Most of these equivalences can be proved using a metatheorem on so-called context condition grammars. In case of matrix grammars and programmed grammars without appearance checking, a straightforward construction leads to the desired equivalence result. Interestingly, accepting devices are (strictly) more powerful than their generating counterparts in case of ordered grammars, programmed and matrix grammars with appearance checking (even programmed grammarsm with unconditional transfer), and 1lET0L systems. More precisely, if we admit erasing productions, we arrive at new characterizations of the recursivley enumerable languages, and if we do not admit them, we get new characterizations of the context-sensitive languages. Moreover, we supplement the published literature showing: - The emptiness and membership problems are recursivley solvable for generating ordered grammars, even if we admit erasing productions. - Uniformly limited propagating systems can be simulated by programmed grammars without erasing and without appearance checking, hence the emptiness and membership problems are recursively solvable for such systems. - We briefly discuss the degree of nondeterminism and the degree of synchronization for devices with limited parallelism

Cooperating Distributed Grammar Systems of Finite Index Working in Hybrid Modes

We study cooperating distributed grammar systems working in hybrid modes in connection with the finite index restriction in two different ways: firstly, we investigate cooperating distributed grammar systems working in hybrid modes which characterize programmed grammars with the finite index restriction; looking at the number of components of such systems, we obtain surprisingly rich lattice structures for the inclusion relations between the corresponding language families. Secondly, we impose the finite index restriction on cooperating distributed grammar systems working in hybrid modes themselves, which leads us to new characterizations of programmed grammars of finite index.Comment: In Proceedings AFL 2014, arXiv:1405.527

Observations on grammar and language families

In this report, we emphasize the differences of grammar families and their properties versus language families and their properties. To this end, we investigate grammar families from an abstract standpoint, developping a new framework of reasoning. In particular when considering decidability questions, special care must be taken when trying to use decidability results (which are, in the first place, properties of grammar families) in order to establish results (e.g. hierarchy results) on language families. We illustrate this by inspecting some theorems and their proofs in the field of regulated rewriting. In this way, we also correct the formulation of an important theorem of Hinz and Dassow. As an exercise, we show that there is no `effective\u27 grammatical characterization of the family of recursive languages. Moreover, we show how to prove the strictness of the Chomsky hierarchy using decidability properties only. Most of the material of this report will be published in `fundamenta informaticae\u27

Synchronization of Deterministic Visibly Push-Down Automata

We generalize the concept of synchronizing words for finite automata, which map all states of the automata to the same state, to deterministic visibly push-down automata. Here, a synchronizing word w does not only map all states to the same state but also fulfills some conditions on the stack content of each run after reading w. We consider three types of these stack constraints: after reading w, the stack (1) is empty in each run, (2) contains the same sequence of stack symbols in each run, or (3) contains an arbitrary sequence which is independent of the other runs. We show that in contrast to general deterministic push-down automata, it is decidable for deterministic visibly push-down automata whether there exists a synchronizing word with each of these stack constraints, more precisely, the problems are in EXPTIME. Under the constraint (1), the problem is even in P. For the sub-classes of deterministic very visibly push-down automata, the problem is in P for all three types of constraints. We further study variants of the synchronization problem where the number of turns in the stack height behavior caused by a synchronizing word is restricted, as well as the problem of synchronizing a variant of a sequential transducer, which shows some visibly behavior, by a word that synchronizes the states and produces the same output on all runs