The HOM problem, which asks whether the image of a regular tree language under a given tree homomorphism is again regular, is known to be decidable [Godoy & Giménez: The HOM problem is decidable. JACM 60(4), 2013]. However, the problem remains open for regular weighted tree languages. It is demonstrated that the main notion used in the unweighted setting, the tree automaton with equality and inequality constraints, can straightforwardly be generalized to the weighted setting and can represent the image of any regular weighted tree language under any nondeleting and nonerasing tree homomorphism. Several closure properties as well as decision problems are also investigated for the weighted tree languages generated by weighted tree automata with constraints.
Recently there has been a significant effort to handle quantitative properties in formal verification and synthesis. While weighted automata over finite and infinite words provide a natural and flexible framework to express quantitative properties, perhaps surprisingly, some basic system properties such as average response time cannot be expressed using weighted automata, nor in any other know decidable formalism. In this work, we introduce nested weighted automata as a natural extension of weighted automata which makes it possible to express important quantitative properties such as average r…
Multiset automata are a class of automata for which the symbols can be read in any order and obtain the same result. We investigate weighted multiset automata and show how to construct them from weighted regular expressions. We present training methods to learn the weights for weighted regular expressions and for general multiset automata from data. Finally, we examine situations in which inside weights can be computed more efficiently.
In this paper, we define a new kind of weighted tree automata where the weights are only supported by final states. We show that these automata are sequentializable and we study their closures under classical regular and algebraic operations. We then use these automata to compute the subtree kernel of two finite tree languages in an efficient way. Finally, we present some perspectives involving the root-weighted tree automata.
In this paper, we first study the conversion of weighted two-way automata to one-way automata. We show that this conversion preserves the unambiguity but does not preserve the determinism. Yet, we prove that the conversion of an unambiguous weighted one-way automaton into a two-way automaton leads to a deterministic two-way automaton. As a consequence, we prove that unambiguous weighted two-way automata are equivalent to deterministic weighted two-way automata in commutative semirings.
In this paper we prove the equivalence of sequential, Mealy-type and Moore-type weighted finite automata with output, with respect to various semantics which are defined here.
A deterministic finite automaton in which every non-empty set of states occurs as the image of the whole state set under the action of a suitable input word is called completely reachable. We characterize such automata in terms of graphs and trees.
We show that weighted automata over the field of two elements can be exponentially more compact than non-deterministic finite state automata. To show this, we combine ideas from automata theory and communication complexity. However, weighted automata are also efficiently learnable in Angluin's minimal adequate teacher model in a number of queries that is polynomial in the size of the minimal weighted automaton.. We include an algorithm for learning WAs over any field based on a linear algebraic generalization of the Angluin-Schapire algorithm. Together, this produces a surprising result: weigh…
In this paper, we study active learning algorithms for weighted automata over a semiring. We show that a variant of Angluin's seminal \LStar\ algorithm works when the semiring is a principal ideal domain, but not for general semirings such as the natural numbers.
We use a non-deterministic variant of storage types to develop a framework for the approximation of automata with storage. This framework is used to provide automata-theoretic views on the approximation of multiple context-free languages and on coarse-to-fine parsing.
We present an algorithm to build an automaton from a rational expression. This approach introduces support for extended weighted expressions. Inspired by derived-term based algorithms, its core relies on a different construct, rational expansions. We introduce an inductive algorithm to compute the expansion of an expression from which the automaton follows. This algorithm is independent of the size of the alphabet, and actually even supports infinite alphabets. It can easily be accommodated to generate deterministic (weighted) automata. These constructs are implemented in Vcsn, a free-software…
An automaton is universal if it accepts every possible input. We study the notion of u-universality, which asserts that the automaton accepts every input starting with u. Universality and u-universality are both EXPTIME-hard for non-deterministic tree automata. We propose efficient antichain-based techniques to address these problems for visibly pushdown automata operating on trees. One of our approaches yields algorithms for the universality and u-universality of hedge automata.
We develop a new bisimulation (pseudo)metric for weighted finite automata (WFA) that generalizes Boreale's linear bisimulation relation. Our metrics are induced by seminorms on the state space of WFA. Our development is based on spectral properties of sets of linear operators. In particular, the joint spectral radius of the transition matrices of WFA plays a central role. We also study continuity properties of the bisimulation pseudometric, establish an undecidability result for computing the metric, and give a preliminary account of applications to spectral learning of weighted automata.
This thesis is focused on techniques for finite automata and their use in practice, with the main emphasis on nondeterministic tree automata. This concerns namely techniques for size reduction and language inclusion testing, which are two problems that are crucial for many applications of tree automata. For size reduction of tree automata, we adapt the simulation quotient technique that is well established for finite word automata. We give efficient algorithms for computing tree automata simulations and we also introduce a new type of relation that arises from a combination of tree automata do…
Hankel matrices (aka connection matrices) of word functions and graph parameters have wide applications in automata theory, graph theory, and machine learning. We give a characterization of real-valued functions on nested words recognized by weighted visibly pushdown automata in terms of Hankel matrices on nested words. This complements C. Mathissen's characterization in terms of weighted monadic second order logic.
The Kleene theorem establishes a fundamental link between automata and expressions over the free monoid. Numerous generalisations of this result exist in the literature. Lifting this result to a weighted setting has been widely studied. Moreover, different monoids can be considered: for instance, two-way automata, and even tree-walking automata, can be described by expressions using the free inverse monoid. In the present work, we aim at combining both research directions and consider weighted extensions of automata and expressions over a class of monoids that we call pre-rational, generalisin…
We present an efficient algorithm to reduce the size of nondeterministic tree automata, while retaining their language. It is based on new transition pruning techniques, and quotienting of the state space w.r.t. suitable equivalences. It uses criteria based on combinations of downward and upward simulation preorder on trees, and the more general downward and upward language inclusions. Since tree-language inclusion is EXPTIME-complete, we describe methods to compute good approximations in polynomial time. We implemented our algorithm as a module of the well-known libvata tree automata library,…
In weighted automata theory, many classical results on formal languages have been extended into a quantitative setting. Here, we investigate weighted context-free languages of infinite words, a generalization of $ω$-context-free languages (Cohen, Gold 1977) and an extension of weighted context-free languages of finite words (Chomsky, Schützenberger 1963). As in the theory of formal grammars, these weighted context-free languages, or $ω$-algebraic series, can be represented as solutions of mixed $ω$-algebraic systems of equations and by weighted $ω$-pushdown automata. In our first main result, …
We consider the representational state complexity of unranked tree automata. The bottom-up computation of an unranked tree automaton may be either deterministic or nondeterministic, and further variants arise depending on whether the horizontal string languages defining the transitions are represented by a DFA or an NFA. Also, we consider for unranked tree automata the alternative syntactic definition of determinism introduced by Cristau et al. (FCT'05, Lect. Notes Comput. Sci. 3623, pp. 68-79). We establish upper and lower bounds for the state complexity of conversions between different types…
This set of notes re-proves known results on weighted automata (over a field, also known as multiplicity automata). The text offers a unified view on theorems and proofs that have appeared in the literature over decades and were written in different styles and contexts. None of the results reported here are claimed to be new. The content centres around fundamentals of equivalence and minimization, with an emphasis on algorithmic aspects. The presentation is minimalistic. No attempt has been made to motivate the material. Weighted automata are viewed from a linear-algebra angle. As a consequenc…
The model of tree automata with equality and disequality constraints was introduced in 2007 by Filiot, Talbot and Tison. In this paper we show that if there is at least one disequality constraint, the emptiness problem is NP-hard.
We present the first study of non-deterministic weighted automata under probabilistic semantics. In this semantics words are random events, generated by a Markov chain, and functions computed by weighted automata are random variables. We consider the probabilistic questions of computing the expected value and the cumulative distribution for such random variables. The exact answers to the probabilistic questions for non-deterministic automata can be irrational and are uncomputable in general. To overcome this limitation, we propose approximation algorithms for the probabilistic questions, which…
This is a reissue of the book Tree Automata by F. Gécseg and M. Steinby originally published in 1984 by Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest. Some mistakes have been corrected and a few obscure passages have been clarified. Moreover, some more recent contributions and current lines of research are reviewed in an appendix that also contains several new references.
We present a disambiguation algorithm for weighted automata. The algorithm admits two main stages: a pre-disambiguation stage followed by a transition removal stage. We give a detailed description of the algorithm and the proof of its correctness. The algorithm is not applicable to all weighted automata but we prove sufficient conditions for its applicability in the case of the tropical semiring by introducing the *weak twins property*. In particular, the algorithm can be used with all acyclic weighted automata, relevant to applications. While disambiguation can sometimes be achieved using det…
We consider the state complexity of basic operations on tree languages recognized by deterministic unranked tree automata. For the operations of union and intersection the upper and lower bounds of both weakly and strongly deterministic tree automata are obtained. For tree concatenation we establish a tight upper bound that is of a different order than the known state complexity of concatenation of regular string languages. We show that (n+1) ( (m+1)2^n-2^(n-1) )-1 vertical states are sufficient, and necessary in the worst case, to recognize the concatenation of tree languages recognized by (s…
We introduce saturation of nondeterministic tree automata, a technique that consists of adding new transitions to an automaton while preserving its language. We implemented our algorithm on minotaut - a module of the tree automata library libvata that reduces the size of automata by merging states and removing superfluous transitions - and we show how saturation can make subsequent merge and transition-removal operations more effective. Thus we obtain a Ptime algorithm that reduces the size of tree automata even more than before. Additionally, we explore how minotaut alone can play an importan…
Determinisation and completion of finite tree automata are important operations with applications in program analysis and verification. However, the complexity of the classical procedures for determinisation and completion is high. They are not practical procedures for manipulating tree automata beyond very small ones. In this paper we develop an algorithm for determinisation and completion of finite tree automata, whose worst-case complexity remains unchanged, but which performs far better than existing algorithms in practice. The critical aspect of the algorithm is that the transitions of th…
The present paper uses spectral theory of linear operators to construct approximately minimal realizations of weighted languages. Our new contributions are: (i) a new algorithm for the SVD decomposition of infinite Hankel matrices based on their representation in terms of weighted automata, (ii) a new canonical form for weighted automata arising from the SVD of its corresponding Hankel matrix and (iii) an algorithm to construct approximate minimizations of given weighted automata by truncating the canonical form. We give bounds on the quality of our approximation.
This paper is concerned with the computational complexity of equivalence and minimisation for automata with transition weights in the field Q of rational numbers. We use polynomial identity testing and the Isolation Lemma to obtain complexity bounds, focussing on the class NC of problems within P solvable in polylogarithmic parallel time. For finite Q-weighted automata, we give a randomised NC procedure that either outputs that two automata are equivalent or returns a word on which they differ. We also give an NC procedure for deciding whether a given automaton is minimal, as well as a randomi…
Automata for unordered unranked trees are relevant for defining schemas and queries for data trees in Json or Xml format. While the existing notions are well-investigated concerning expressiveness, they all lack a proper notion of determinism, which makes it difficult to distinguish subclasses of automata for which problems such as inclusion, equivalence, and minimization can be solved efficiently. In this paper, we propose and investigate different notions of "horizontal determinism", starting from automata for unranked trees in which the horizontal evaluation is performed by finite state aut…
Weighted timed automata (WTA) model quantitative aspects of real-time systems like continuous consumption of memory, power or financial resources. They accept quantitative timed languages where every timed word is mapped to a value, e.g., a real number. In this paper, we prove a Nivat theorem for WTA which states that recognizable quantitative timed languages are exactly those which can be obtained from recognizable boolean timed languages with the help of several simple operations. We also introduce a weighted extension of relative distance logic developed by Wilke, and we show that our weigh…
Arden's Lemma is a classical result in language theory allowing the computation of a rational expression denoting the language recognized by a finite string automaton. In this paper we generalize this important lemma to the rational tree languages. Moreover, we propose also a construction of a rational tree expression which denotes the accepted tree language of a finite tree automaton.
We study a categorical generalisation of tree automata, as $Σ$-algebras for a fixed endofunctor $Σ$ endowed with initial and final states. Under mild assumptions about the base category, we present a general minimisation algorithm for these automata. We then build upon and extend an existing generalisation of the Nerode equivalence to a categorical setting and relate it to the existence of minimal automata. Finally, we show that generalised types of side-effects, such as non-determinism, can be captured by this categorical framework, leading to a general determinisation procedure.
While weighted automata provide a natural framework to express quantitative properties, many basic properties like average response time cannot be expressed with weighted automata. Nested weighted automata extend weighted automata and consist of a master automaton and a set of slave automata that are invoked by the master automaton. Nested weighted automata are strictly more expressive than weighted automata (e.g., average response time can be expressed with nested weighted automata), but the basic decision questions have higher complexity (e.g., for deterministic automata, the emptiness quest…
Simulations of weighted tree automata (wta) are considered. It is shown how such simulations can be decomposed into simpler functional and dual functional simulations also called forward and backward simulations. In addition, it is shown in several cases (fields, commutative rings, Noetherian semirings, semiring of natural numbers) that all equivalent wta M and N can be joined by a finite chain of simulations. More precisely, in all mentioned cases there exists a single wta that simulates both M and N. Those results immediately yield decidability of equivalence provided that the semiring is fi…
A data tree is an unranked ordered tree where each node carries a label from a finite alphabet and a datum from some infinite domain. We consider the two variable first order logic FO2(<,+1,~) over data trees. Here +1 refers to the child and the next sibling relations while < refers to the descendant and following sibling relations. Moreover, ~ is a binary predicate testing data equality. We exhibit an automata model, denoted DAD# that is more expressive than FO2(<,+1,~) but such that emptiness of DAD# and satisfiability of FO2(<,+1,~) are inter-reducible. This is proved via a model of counter…
In this paper we introduce and study fuzzy deterministic top-down (DT) tree automata over a lattice L. The L-fuzzy tree languages recognized by these automata are said to be DT-recognizable, and they form a proper subfamily $DRec_L$ of the family of $Rec_L$ of all regular L-fuzzy tree languages. We prove a Pumping Lemma for $DRec_L$ from which several decidability results follow. The closure properties of $DRec_L$ under various operations are established. We also characterize DT-recognizability in terms of L-fuzzy path languages, and prove that the path closure of any regular L-fuzzy tree lang…
In this paper, we give a Nivat-like characterization for weighted alternating automata over commutative semirings (WAFA). To this purpose we prove that weighted alternating can be characterized as the concatenation of weighted finite tree automata (WFTA) and a specific class of tree homomorphism. We show that the class of series recognized by weighted alternating automata is closed under inverses of homomorphisms, but not under homomorphisms. We give a logical characterization of weighted alternating automata, which uses weighted MSO logic for trees. Finally we investigate the strong connectio…
We address the approximate minimization problem for weighted finite automata (WFAs) with weights in $\mathbb{R}$, over a one-letter alphabet: to compute the best possible approximation of a WFA given a bound on the number of states. This work is grounded in Adamyan-Arov-Krein Approximation theory, a remarkable collection of results on the approximation of Hankel operators. In addition to its intrinsic mathematical relevance, this theory has proven to be very effective for model reduction. We adapt these results to the framework of weighted automata over a one-letter alphabet. We provide theore…
We consider weighted tree automata over strong bimonoids (for short: wta). A wta $\mathcal{A}$ has the finite-image property if its recognized weighted tree language $[\![\mathcal{A}]\!]$ has finite image; moreover, $\mathcal{A}$ has the preimage property if the preimage under $[\![\mathcal{A}]\!]$ of each element of the underlying strong bimonoid is a recognizable tree language. For each wta $\mathcal{A}$ over a past-finite monotonic strong bimonoid we prove the following results. In terms of $\mathcal{A}$'s structural properties, we characterize whether it has the finite-image property. We c…
