Biinfinite words with maximal recurrent unbordered factors

A finite non-empty word z is said to be a border of a finite non-empty word w if w=uz=zv for some non-empty words u and v. A finite non-empty word is said to be bordered if it admits a border, and it is said to be unbordered otherwise. In this paper, we give two characterizations of the biinfinite words of the form ^ωuvu^ω, where u and v are finite words, in terms of its unbordered factors.

The main result of the paper states that the words of the form ^ωuvu^ω are precisely the biinfinite words w=a₋₂a₋₁a₀a₁a₂ for which there exists a pair (l₀,r₀) of integers with l₀<r₀ such that, for every integers ll₀ and rr₀, the factor a_la_l0a_r0a_r is a bordered word.

The words of the form ^ωuvu^ω are also characterized as being those biinfinite words w that admit a left recurrent unbordered factor (i.e., an unbordered factor of w that has an infinite number of occurrences “to the left” in w) of maximal length that is also a right recurrent unbordered factor of maximal length. This last result is a biinfinite analogue of a result known for infinite words.