Optimal infinite scheduling for multi-priced timed automata

This paper is concerned with the derivation of infinite schedules for timed automata that are in some sense optimal. To cover a wide class of optimality criteria we start out by introducing an extension of the (priced) timed automata model that includes both costs and rewards as separate modelling features. A precise definition is then given of what constitutes optimal infinite behaviours for this class of models. We subsequently show that the derivation of optimal non-terminating schedules for such double-priced timed automata is computable. This is done by a reduction of the problem to the determination of optimal mean-cycles in finite graphs with weighted edges. This reduction is obtained by introducing the so-called corner-point abstraction, a powerful abstraction technique of which we show that it preserves optimal schedules. This work has been mostly done while visiting CISS at Aalborg University in Denmark and has been supported by CISS and by ACI Cortos, a program of the French Ministry of Research.     

On stateless multihead automata: Hierarchies and the emptiness problem

We look at stateless multihead finite automata in their two-way and one-way, deterministic and nondeterministic variations. The transition of a k-head automaton depends solely on the symbols currently scanned by its k heads, and every such transition moves each head one cell left or right, or instructs it to stay. We show that stateless (k+4)-head two-way automata are more powerful than stateless k-head two-way automata. In the one-way case, we prove a tighter result: stateless (k+1)-head one-way automata are more powerful than stateless k-head one-way automata. Finally, we show that the emptiness problem for stateless 2-head two-way automata is undecidable.     

Unary probabilistic and quantum automata on promise problems

We continue the systematic investigation of probabilistic and quantum finite automata (PFAs and QFAs) on promise problems by focusing on unary languages. We show that bounded-error unary QFAs are more powerful than bounded-error unary PFAs, and, contrary to the binary language case, the computational power of Las-Vegas QFAs and bounded-error PFAs is equivalent to the computational power of deterministic finite automata (DFAs). Then, we present a new family of unary promise problems defined with two parameters such that when fixing one parameter QFAs can be exponentially more succinct than PFAs and when fixing the other parameter PFAs can be exponentially more succinct than DFAs.     

Unbounded-error quantum computation with small space bounds

We prove the following facts about the language recognition power of quantum Turing machines (QTMs) in the unbounded error setting: QTMs are strictly more powerful than probabilistic Turing machines for any common space bound s satisfying s(n)=o(loglogn). For “one-way” Turing machines, where the input tape head is not allowed to move left, the above result holds for s(n)=o(logn). We also give a characterization for the class of languages recognized with unbounded error by real-time quantum finite automata (QFAs) with restricted measurements. It turns out that these automata are equal in power to their probabilistic counterparts, and this fact does not change when the QFA model is augmented to allow general measurements and mixed states. Unlike the case with classical finite automata, when the QFA tape head is allowed to remain stationary in some steps, more languages become recognizable. We define and use a QTM model that generalizes the other variants introduced earlier in the study of quantum space complexity.     

Stable trace automata vs. full trace automata

Trace automata provide a well-studied model for systems with concurrent behavior, which is usually given by associated domains of finite or infinite computation systems. Several authors in the literature have characterized order-theoretically these domains which are typically particular Scott domains. In most of these investigations, the question remain open when such a domain can be obtained from some finite automaton. In this paper it is shown that finite stable trace automata and finite full trace automata give rise to the same class of coherent dI-domains. The proof of this result involves combinatorial means from graph theory (colorings) and Ramsey's theorem.     

State feedback control of real-time discrete event systems with infinite states

In this paper, we study a state feedback supervisory control of timed discrete event systems (TDESs) with infinite number of states modelled as timed automata. To this end, we represent a timed automaton with infinite number of untimed states (called locations) by a finite set of conditional assignment statements. Predicates and predicate transformers are employed to finitely represent the behaviour and specification of a TDES with infinite number of locations. In addition, the notion of clock regions in timed automata is used to identify the reachable states of a TDES with an infinite time space. For a real-time specification described as a predicate, we present the controllability condition for the existence of a state feedback supervisor that restricts the behaviour of the controlled TDES within the specification.     

Two-way unary automata versus logarithmic space

We show that if L=NL (the classical logarithmic space classes), then each unary 2nfa (a two-way nondeterministic finite automaton) can be converted into an equivalent 2dfa (a deterministic two-way automaton), keeping the number of states polynomial. (Unlike other results of this kind, here the deterministic simulation is valid for inputs of all lengths, not only polynomially long ones.) This shows a connection between the standard logarithmic space complexity and the state complexity of two-way unary automata: it indicates that L could be separated from NL by proving a superpolynomial gap, in the number of states, for the conversion from unary 2nfas to 2dfa. Moreover, without any unproven assumptions, we show that each n-state unary 2nfa can be simulated by an equivalent 2ufa (an unambiguous 2nfa) with a polynomial number of states.     

Grid automata and supervisory control of dense real-time discrete event systems

We present a generalization of the classical supervisory control theory for discrete event systems to a setting of dense real-time systems modeled by Alur and Dill timed automata. The main problem involved is that in general the state space of a timed automaton is (uncountably) infinite. The solution is to reduce the dense time transition system to an appropriate finite discrete subautomaton, the grid automaton, which contains enough information to deal with the timed supervisory control problem (TSCP). The plant and the specifications region graphs are sampled for a granularity defined in a way that each state has an outgoing transition labeled with the same time amount. We redefine the controllability concept in the context of grid automata, and we provide necessary and sufficient solvability conditions under which the optimal solution to centralized supervisory control problems in timed discrete event systems under full observation can be obtained. The enhanced setting admits subsystem composition and the concept of forcible event. A simple example illustrates how the new method can be used to solve the TSCP.     

On the Computational Complexity of P Automata

We characterize the classes of languages over finite alphabets which may be described by P automata, i.e., accepting P systems with communication rules only. Motivated by properties of natural computing systems, and the actual behavior of P automata, we study computational complexity classes with a certain restriction on the use of the available workspace in the course of computations and relate these to the language classes described by P automata. We prove that if the rules of the P system are applied sequentially, then the accepted language class is strictly included in the class of languages accepted by one-way Turing machines with a logarithmically bounded workspace, and if the rules are applied in the maximally parallel manner, then the class of context-sensitive languages is obtained.     

有关时间自动机重置的若干问题的计算复杂性

自动机的重置序列也称为同步序列,具有以下特性：有限自动机通过运行重置序列w,可从任意一个未知的或无法观测到的状态q₀到达某个特定状态q_w.这仅依赖于w,而与开始运行w时的状态q₀无关.这一特性可用于部分可观察的复杂系统的自动恢复,而无需重启,甚至有时不能重启.基于此,重置问题自出现以来便得到关注和持续研究.最近几年,它被扩展到可以描述诸如分布式、嵌入式实时系统等复杂系统的无限状态模型上,比如时间自动机和寄存器自动机等.以时间自动机的重置问题的计算复杂性为研究对象,发现重置问题与可达性问题有着紧密的联系.主要贡献是：（1）利用时间自动机可达性问题的最新成果,完善完全的确定的时间自动机重置问题的计算复杂性结论;（2）对部分规约的确定的时间自动机,研究得出,即使在输入字母表大小减至2的情况下,其复杂性仍是PSPACE-完全的;特别地,在单时钟情况下是NLOGSPACE-完全的;（3）对完全的非确定的时间自动机,研究得出其D_i-可重置问题（i=1,2,3）是不可判定的,其重置问题与非确定的寄存器自动机重置问题在指数时间可以相互归约,通过证明指数时间归约相对高复杂性类具有封闭性,利用非确定的寄存器自动机的结论得出单时钟的时间自动机的重置问题是Ackermann-完全的、限界的重置问题是NEXPTIME-完全的.这些复杂性结论,说明关于时间自动机的重置问题大都是难解的,一方面,为时间系统的可重置性的检测和求解奠定坚实的理论基础,另一方面,为以后寻找具有高效算法的特殊结构的时间系统（即具有高效算法的问题子类）给予理论指导.     

Improved constructions of mixed state quantum automata

Quantum finite automata with mixed states are proved to be super-exponentially more concise rather than quantum finite automata with pure states. It was proved earlier by A. Ambainis and R. Freivalds that quantum finite automata with pure states can have an exponentially smaller number of states than deterministic finite automata recognizing the same language. There was an unpublished “folk theorem” proving that quantum finite automata with mixed states are no more super-exponentially more concise than deterministic finite automata. It was not known whether the super-exponential advantage of quantum automata is really achievable.     

Mutation systems

We propose mutation systems as a model of the evolution of a string subject to the effects of mutations and a fitness function. One fundamental question about such a system is whether knowing the rules for mutations and fitness, we can predict whether it is possible for one string to evolve into another. To explore this issue, we define a specific kind of mutation system with point mutations and a fitness function based on conserved strongly k-testable string patterns. We show that for any k greater than 1, such systems can simulate computation by both finite state machines (FSMs) and asynchronous cellular automata. The cellular automaton simulation shows that in this framework, universal computation is possible and the question of whether one string can evolve into another is undecidable. We also analyse the efficiency of the FSM simulation assuming random point mutations.     

On cellular automata over Galois rings

In this paper we study the invertibility of one-dimensional cellular automata, determined by a local rule, acting on the space of all doubly-infinite sequences taking values in a finite Galois ring. We also compute the topological entropy of one-dimensional CA generated by additive local rule over a finite Galois ring. We conclude by showing that the topological entropy of an additive invertible CA over a finite Galois ring is equal to its inverse.     

Regular grammars with truth values in lattice-ordered monoid and their languages

In this study, we introduce the concept of lattice-valued regular grammars. Such grammars have become a necessary tool for the analysis of fuzzy finite automata. The relationship between lattice-valued finite automata (LA) and lattice-valued regular grammars (LRG) are discussed and we get the following results, for a given LRG, there exists an LA such that they accept the same languages, and vice versa. We also show the equivalence between deterministic lattice-valued regular grammars and deterministic lattice-valued finite automata.     

Operational state complexity of nested word automata

We introduce techniques to prove lower bounds for the number of states needed by finite automata operating on nested words. We study the state complexity of Boolean operations and obtain lower bounds that are tight within an additive constant. The results for union and complementation differ from corresponding bounds for ordinary finite automata. For reversal and concatenation, we establish lower bounds that are of a different order than the worst-case bounds for ordinary finite automata.     

One-way simple multihead finite automata

The first half of this paper investigates the accepting powers of various types of simple one-way multihead finite automata. It is shown that(1)for each k?1, simple one-way (k+1)-head finite automata are more powerful than simple one-way k-head finite automata.(2)for each k?2, nondeterministic simple one-way k-head finite automata are more powerful than deterministic ones, and(3)for each k?2, sensing simple one-way k-head finite automata are more powerful than non-sensing ones.In the latter half, closure properties for various types of simple one-way multihead finite automata are investigated.Finally, we demonstrate that languages accepted by nondeterministic sensing simple one-way 2-head finite automata are related to some open problem concerning deterministic and nondeterministic tape-bounded Turing computations.     

Complexity of weak acceptance conditions in tree automata

Weak acceptance conditions for automata on infinite words or trees are defined in terms of the set of states that appear in the run. This is in contrast with, more usual, strong conditions that are defined in terms of states appearing infinitely often on the run. Weak conditions appear in the context of model-checking and translations of logical formalisms to automata. We study the complexity of the emptiness problem for tree automata with weak conditions. We also study the translations between automata with weak and strong conditions.     

Language equations for timed alternating finite automata

Traditionally, finite state automata are untimed or asynchronous models of computation in which only the ordering of events, not the time at which events occur, would affect the result of a computation. For real-time systems, it is important to augment these models of computation with a notion of time. For this purpose timed automata have become a powerful canonical model for describing timed behaviors and an effective tool for modeling real-time computations. In this paper, we extend the notion of timed alternating finite automata (TAFA), a class of alternating finite automata (AFA) extended with a finite set of real-valued clocks, and we present an algebraic interpretation of TAFA which parallels that of timed regular expressions and language equations. We further extend the equational representation of AFA to describe timed alternating finite automata, and explore solutions for such equations over time languages.