On locally balanced gray codes

We consider locally balanced Gray codes.We say that a Gray code is locally balanced if every “short” subword in its transition sequence contains all letters of the alphabet |1, 2,..., n~. The minimal length of these subwords is the window width of the code. We show that for each n ≥ 3 there exists a Gray code with window width at most n + 3?log n?.     

On the size of the alphabet and the subword complexity of square-free DOI languages

A word is called square-free if it does not contain a subword of the form αα where α is a nonempty word. A language is called square-free if it consists of square-free words only. The subword complexity of a language K, denoted π_K, is a function of positive integers which for a positive integer n assigns the number of different subwords of lenght n occurring in words of K. It is known that if a DOL language K is square-free then, for all n, π_K(n) ≤ r n log₂ for some positive integer r. We demonstrate that there exists a square-free DOL language K on four letters such that, for all n, π_K(n) ≥ r n log₂ for some positive real p. This turns out to be the best lower bound on the size of the alphabet needed for a square-free DOL language to have the number of subwords of order nlog_nn     

The standard factorization of Lyndon words: an average point of view

A non-empty word w is a Lyndon word if and only if it is strictly smaller for the lexicographical order than any of its proper suffixes. Such a word w is either a letter or admits a standard factorization uv where v is its smallest proper suffix. For any Lyndon word v, we show that the set of Lyndon words having v as right factor of the standard factorization is regular and compute explicitly the associated generating function. Next, considering the Lyndon words of length n over a two-letter alphabet, we establish that, for the uniform distribution, the average length of the right factor v of the standard factorization is asymptotically 3n/4.     

Palindromic prefixes and episturmian words

Let w be an infinite word on an alphabet A. We denote by (ni)_i?1 the increasing sequence (assumed to be infinite) of all lengths of palindromic prefixes of w. In this text, we give an explicit construction of all words w such that ni+1?2ni+1 for all i, and study these words. Special examples include characteristic Sturmian words, and more generally standard episturmian words. As an application, we study the values taken by the quantity lim supni+1/ni, and prove that it is minimal (among all nonperiodic words) for the Fibonacci word.     

On Rauzy graph sequences of infinite words

Under study are the sequences of Rauzy graphs (i.e., the graphs of subwords overlapping) of infinite words. The k-stretching of a graph is the graph we obtain by replacing each edge with a chain of length k. Considering a sequence of strongly connected directed graphs of maximal in and out vertex degrees equal to s, we prove that it is, up to stretchings, a subsequence of a Rauzy graphs sequence of some uniformly recurrent infinite word on s-letter alphabet. The language of a word of this kind and stretching for a given sequence of graphs are constructed explicitly.     

Unbordered factors and Lyndon words

A primitive word w is a Lyndon word if w is minimal among all its conjugates with respect to some lexicographic order. A word w is bordered if there is a nonempty word u such that w=uvu for some word v. A right extension of a word w of length n is a word wu where all factors longer than n are bordered. A right extension wu of w is called trivial if there exists a positive integer k such that w^k=uv for some word v.We prove that Lyndon words have only trivial right extensions. Moreover, we give a conjecture which characterizes a property of every word w which has a nontrivial right extension of length 2|w|-2.     

On minimal Sturmian partial words

Partial words, which are sequences that may have some undefined positions called holes, can be viewed as sequences over an extended alphabet A_?=A∪{?}, where ? stands for a hole and matches (or is compatible with) every letter in A. The subword complexity of a partial word w, denoted by p_w(n), is the number of distinct full words (those without holes) over the alphabet that are compatible with factors of length n of w. A function f:N→N is (k,h)-feasible if for each integer N≥1, there exists a k-ary partial word w with h holes such that p_w(n)=f(n) for all n such that 1≤n≤N. We show that when dealing with feasibility in the context of finite binary partial words, the only affine functions that need investigation are f(n)=n+1 and f(n)=2n. It turns out that both are (2,h)-feasible for all non-negative integers h. We classify all minimal partial words with h holes of order N with respect to f(n)=n+1, called Sturmian, computing their lengths as well as their numbers, except when h=0 in which case we describe an algorithm that generates all minimal Sturmian full words. We show that up to reversal and complement, any minimal Sturmian partial word with one hole is of the form aⁱ?a^jba^l, where i,j,l are integers satisfying some restrictions, that all minimal Sturmian partial words with two holes are one-periodic, and that up to complement, ?(a^N−1?)^h−1 is the only minimal Sturmian partial word with h≥3 holes. Finally, we give upper bounds on the lengths of minimal partial words with respect to f(n)=2n, showing them tight for h=0,1 or 2.     

Avoiding abelian squares in partial words

Erd?s raised the question whether there exist infinite abelian square-free words over a given alphabet, that is, words in which no two adjacent subwords are permutations of each other. It can easily be checked that no such word exists over a three-letter alphabet. However, infinite abelian square-free words have been constructed over alphabets of sizes as small as four. In this paper, we investigate the problem of avoiding abelian squares in partial words, or sequences that may contain some holes. In particular, we give lower and upper bounds for the number of letters needed to construct infinite abelian square-free partial words with finitely or infinitely many holes. Several of our constructions are based on iterating morphisms. In the case of one hole, we prove that the minimal alphabet size is four, while in the case of more than one hole, we prove that it is five. We also investigate the number of partial words of length n with a fixed number of holes over a five-letter alphabet that avoid abelian squares and show that this number grows exponentially with n.     

Morse and Hedlund’s Skew Sturmian Words Revisited

For any infinite word r over A = {a, b} we associate two infinite words min(r), max(r) such that any prefix of min(r) (max(r), respectively) is the lexicographically smallest (greatest, respectively) among the factors of r of the same length. We prove that (min(r); max(r)) = (as, bs) for some infinite word s if and only if r is a proper Sturmian word or an ultimately periodic word of a particular form. This result is based on a lemma concerning sequences of infinite words. Received July 11, 2005     

Unbordered partial words

An unbordered word is a string over a finite alphabet such that none of its proper prefixes is one of its suffixes. In this paper, we extend the results on unbordered words to unbordered partial words. Partial words are strings that may have a number of “do not know” symbols. We extend a result of Ehrenfeucht and Silberger which states that if a word u can be written as a concatenation of nonempty prefixes of a word v, then u can be written as a unique concatenation of nonempty unbordered prefixes of v. We study the properties of the longest unbordered prefix of a partial word, investigate the relationship between the minimal weak period of a partial word and the maximal length of its unbordered factors, and also investigate some of the properties of an unbordered partial word and how they relate to its critical factorizations (if any).     

Separating words by occurrences of subwords

We obtain some lower bounds for the complexity of word separation by occurrences of subwords. In the case of length 1 subwords, we show that the bound is exact up to a constant factor. Connection with the problem of separating words by automata is considered.     

Fine and Wilf words for any periods

Let w = w₁ … w_n be a word of maximal length n, and with a maximal number of distinct letters for this length, such that w has periods p₁, …, p_n but not period gcd(p₁,…,p_r). We provide a fast algorithm to compute n and w. We show that w is uniquely determined apart from isomorphism and that it is a palindrome. Furthermore we give lower and upper bounds for n as explicit functions of p₁, …p_r. For r = 2 the exact value of n is due to Fine and Wilf. In case the number of distinct letters in the extremal word equals r a formula for n had been given by Castelli, Mignosi and Restivo in case r = 3 and by Justin if r > 3.     

A new statistic on Dyck paths for counting 3-dimensional Catalan words

A 3-dimensional Catalan word is a word on three letters so that the subword on any two letters is a Dyck path. For a given Dyck path D, a recently defined statistic counts the number of Catalan words with the property that any subword on two letters is exactly D. In this paper, we enumerate Dyck paths with this statistic equal to certain values, including all primes. The formulas obtained are in terms of Motzkin numbers and Motzkin ballot numbers.     

Homotopy Spheres in Formal Language

The set of nonempty proper subwords of a word is either contractible or a homotopy n-sphere. There is a simple algorithm which computes n. The existence of spherical words is investigated, and the words which yield spheres are determined. A language which is closed under subwords has a finite number of components, and each component has a finitely generated fundamental group. For each n greater than 1, there is a language on two letters which has the homotopy type of an infinite cluster of n-sphere. There is a language on two letters which has nontrivial homology in each dimension greater than 1. If a language is closed under subwords and has bounded period, then it has the homotopy type of a finite polyhedron.     

Proper partial geometries with Singer groups and pseudogeometric partial difference sets

A partial geometry admitting a Singer group G is equivalent to a partial difference set in G admitting a certain decomposition into cosets of line stabilizers. We develop methods for the classification of these objects, in particular, for the case of abelian Singer groups. As an application, we show that a proper partial geometry Π=pg(s+1,t+1,2) with an abelian Singer group G can only exist if t=2(s+2) and G is an elementary abelian 3-group of order ³(s+1) or Π is the Van Lint-Schrijver partial geometry. As part of the proof, we show that the Diophantine equation (m³−1)/2=(²rw−1)/(r²−1) has no solutions in integers m,r?1, w?2, settling a case of Goormaghtigh's equation.     

Locally Periodic Versus Globally Periodic Infinite Words

We call a one-way infinite word w over a finite alphabet (ρ,l)-repetitive if all long enough prefixes of w contain as a suffix a ρth power (or more generally a repetition of order ρ) of a word of length at most l. We show that each (2,4)-repetitive word is ultimately periodic, as well as that there exist continuum many, and hence also nonultimately periodic, (2,5)-repetitive words. Further, we characterize nonultimately periodic (2,5)-repetitive words both structurally and algebraically.     

Subwords in Reverse-Complement Order

We examine finite words over an alphabet of pairs of letters, where each word w₁w₂ ... w_t is identified with its reverse complement where ( ). We seek the smallest k such that every word of length n, composed from Γ, is uniquely determined by the set of its subwords of length up to k. Our almost sharp result (k~ 2n = 3) is an analogue of a classical result for “normal” words. This problem has its roots in bioinformatics. Received October 19, 2005     

Normal forms under Simon’s congruence

Simon’s congruence, denoted by \(\sim _k\), relates the words having the same subwords of length at most k. In this paper a normal form is presented for the equivalence classes of \(\sim _k\). The length of this normal form is the shortest possible. Moreover, a canonical solution of the equation \(pwq\sim _k r\) is also shown (the words p, q, r are parameters), which can be viewed as a generalization of giving a normal form for \(\sim _k\). In this paper, there can be found an algorithm with which the canonical solution can be determined in \(O((L+n)n^{k})\) time, where L denotes the length of the word pqr and n is the size of the alphabet.     

Total palindrome complexity of finite words

The palindrome complexity function pal_w of a word w attaches to each n∈N the number of palindromes (factors equal to their mirror images) of length n contained in w. The number of all the nonempty palindromes in a finite word is called the total palindrome complexity of that word. We present exact bounds for the total palindrome complexity and construct words which have any palindrome complexity between these bounds, for binary alphabets as well as for alphabets with the cardinal greater than 2. Denoting by M_q(n) the average number of palindromes in all words of length n over an alphabet with q letters, we present an upper bound for M_q(n) and prove that the limit of M_q(n)/n is 0. A more elaborate estimation leads to .