We study finitely generated groups whose word problems are accepted by counter automata. We show that a group has word problem accepted by a blind n-counter automaton in the sense of Greibach if and only if it is virtually free abelian of rank n; this result, which answers a question of Gilman, is in a very precise sense an abelian analogue of the Muller-Schupp theorem. More generally, if G is a virtually abelian group then every group with word problem recognised by a G-automaton is virtually abelian with growth class bounded above by the growth class of G. We consider also other types of counter automata.
We consider how the languages of $G$-automata compare with other formal language classes. We prove that if the word problem of a group $G$ is accepted by a machine in the class $\mathcal M$ then the language of any $G$-automaton is in the class $\mathcal M$. It follows that the so called {\emph counter languages} (languages of $\mathbb Z^n$-automata) are context-sensitive, and further that counter languages are indexed if and only if the word problem for $\mathbb Z^n$ is indexed.
Elder, Kambites, and Ostheimer showed that if the word problem of a finitely generated group $H$ is accepted by a $G$-automaton for an abelian group $G$, then $H$ is virtually abelian. We give a new, elementary, and purely combinatorial proof to the theorem. Furthermore, our method extracts an explicit connection between the two groups $G$ and $H$ from the automaton as a group homomorphism from a subgroup of $G$ onto a finite index subgroup of $H$.
We show presentations of automata groups generated by Cayley machines of finite groups of nilpotency class two and these automata groups are all cross-wired lamplighters.
Counter automata are more powerful versions of finite-state automata where addition and subtraction operations are permitted on a set of n integer registers, called counters. We show that the word problem of $\Z^n$ is accepted by a nondeterministic $m$-counter automaton if and only if $m \geq n$.
We consider the two generalizations of lamplighter groups: automata groups generated by Cayley machine and cross-wired lamplighter groups. For a finite step two nilpotent group with central squares, we study its associated Cayley machine and give a presentation of the corresponding automata group. We show the automata group is a cross-wired lamplighter group and does not embed in the wreath product of a finite group with a torsion free group. For a subfamily of such finite step two nilpotent groups, we prove that their associated automata groups are linear.
For every natural number $n$, we classify abelian groups generated by an $n$-state time-varying automaton over the binary alphabet, as well as by an $n$-state Mealy automaton over the binary alphabet.
Generalizing the idea of self-similar groups defined by Mealy automata, we itroduce the notion of a self-similar automaton and a self-similar group over a changing alphabet. We show that every finitely generated residually-finite group is self-similar over an arbitrary unbounded changing alphabet. We construct some naturally defined self-similar automaton representations over an unbounded changing alphabet for any lamplighter group $K\wr \mathbb{Z}$ with an arbitrary finitely generated (finite or infinite) abelian group $K$.
We give a new example of an automata group of intermediate growth. It is generated by an automaton with 4 states on an alphabet with 8 letters. This automata group has exponential activity and its limit space is not simply connected.
We construct automata over a binary alphabet with $2n$ states, $n\geq 2$, whose states freely generate a free group of rank $2n$. Combined with previous work, this shows that a free group of every finite rank can be generated by finite automata over a binary alphabet. We also construct free products of cyclic groups of order two via such automata.
We introduce two series of finite automata starting from the so-called Aleshin and Bellaterra automata. We prove that each automaton in the first series defines a free non-Abelian group while each automaton in the second series defines the free product of groups of order 2. Furthermore, these properties are shared by disjoint unions of any number of distinct automata from either series.
There are several natural families of groups acting on rooted trees for which every member is known to be amenable. It is, however, unclear what the elementary amenable members of these families look like. Towards clarifying this situation, we here study elementary amenable bounded automata groups. We are able to isolate the elementary amenable bounded automata groups in three natural subclasses of bounded automata groups. In particular, we show that iterated monodromy groups of post-critically finite polynomials are either virtually abelian or not elementary amenable.
In the paper, we deal with the notion of an automaton over a changing alphabet, which generalizes the concept of a Mealy-type automaton. We modify the methods based on the idea of a dual automaton and its action used by B. Steinberg et al. (2011) and M. Vorobets and Ya. Vorobets (2007,2010) and adapt them to automata over a changing alphabet. We show that this modification provides some naturally defined automaton representations of a free nonabelian group by a 2-state automaton over a changing alphabet.
We extend the classical Stallings theory (describing subgroups of free groups as automata) to direct products of free and abelian groups: after introducing enriched automata (i.e., automata with extra abelian labels), we obtain an explicit bijection between subgroups and a certain type of such enriched automata, which - as it happens in the free group - is computable in the finitely generated case. This approach provides a neat geometric description of (even non finitely generated) intersections of finitely generated subgroups within this non-Howson family. In particular, we give a geometric s…
Classification of groups generated by 3-state automata over a 2-letter alphabet started in the first paper (see http://www.arxiv.org/abs/math/0612178) is continued.
We explore the connections between automata, groups, limit spaces of self-similar actions, and tilings. In particular, we show how a group acting ``nicely'' on a tree gives rise to a self-covering of a topological groupoid, and how the group can be reconstructed from the groupoid and its covering. The connection is via finite-state automata. These define decomposition rules, or self-similar tilings, on leaves of the solenoid associated with the covering.
In this paper, we study some large scale properties of the mother groups of bounded automata groups. First we give two methods to prove every mother group has infinite asymptotic dimension. Then we study the decomposition complexity of certain subgroup in the mother group. We prove the subgroup belongs to $\mathcal{D}_ω$.
We give a simpler proof using automata theory of a recent result of Kapovich, Weidmann and Myasnikov according to which so-called benign graphs of groups preserve decidability of the generalized word problem. These include graphs of groups in which edge groups are polycyclic-by-finite and vertex groups are either locally quasiconvex hyperbolic or polycyclic-by-finite and so in particular chordal graph groups (right-angled Artin groups).
We show that the group of bounded automatic automorphisms of a rooted tree is amenable, which implies amenability of numerous classes of groups generated by finite automata. The proof is based on reducing the problem to showing amenability just of a certain explicit family of groups ("Mother groups") which is done by analyzing the asymptotic properties of random walks on these groups.
We construct group codes over two letters (i.e., bases of subgroups of a two-generated free group) with special properties. Such group codes can be used for reducing algorithmic problems over large alphabets to algorithmic problems over a two-letter alphabet. Our group codes preserve aperiodicity of inverse finite automata. As an application we show that the following problems are PSpace-complete for two-letter alphabets (this was previously known for large enough finite alphabets): The intersection-emptiness problem for inverse finite automata, the aperiodicity problem for inverse finite auto…
We give sufficient conditions for when groups generated by automata in a class $\mathcal{C}$ of transducers, which contains the class of reset automata transducers, have infinite order. As a consequence we also demonstrate that if a group generated by an automata in $\mathcal{C}$ is infinite, then it contains a free semigroup of rank at least 2. This gives a new proof, in the context of groups generated by automaton in $\mathcal{C}$, of a result of Chou showing that finitely generated elementary amenable groups either have polynomial growth or contain a free semigroup of rank at least 2.
We add to the classification of groups generated by 3-state automata over a 2 letter alphabet given by Bondarenko et al., by showing that a number of the groups in the classification are non-contracting. We show that the criterion we use to prove a self-similar action is non-contracting also implies that the associated self-similarity graph introduced by Nekrashevych is non-hyperbolic.
This article contains most of the known results on the classification of groups generated by 3-state automata over a 2-letter alphabet, extending the previous papers 0704.3876 and math/0612178.
We construct the groups $<A,B,C \;| \, A^2,B^2,C^2,(ABC)^2>$ and $<A,B \;| \, A^2,B^4,(AB)^4>$, using 3-state automata over the alphabets $\{1,2,3\}$ and $\{1,2,3,4\}$. In addition, we show, how to define direct powers of $G$ by automaton (when for $G$ it's given), keeping the alphabet.
We produce for arbitrary non-amenable group $G$ and field $K$ a non-pre-injective, surjective linear cellular automaton. This answers positively Open Problem (OP-14) in Ceccherini-Silberstein and Coornaert's monograph "Cellular Automata and Groups". We also reprove in a direct manner, for linear cellular automata, the result by Capobianco, Kari and Taati that cellular automata over sofic groups are injective if and only if they are post-surjective. These results come from considerations related to matrices over group rings: we prove that a matrix's kernel and the image of its adjoint are mutua…
The notion of an automaton over a changing alphabet $X=(X_i)_{i\geq 1}$ is used to define and study automorphism groups of the tree $X^*$ of finite words over $X$. The concept of bi-reversibility for Mealy-type automata is extended to automata over a changing alphabet. It is proved that a non-abelian free group can be generated by a two-state bi-reversible automaton over a changing alphabet $X=(X_i)_{i\geq 1}$ if and only if $X$ is unbounded. The characterization of groups generated by a two-state bi-reversible automaton over the sequence of binary alphabets is established.
We consider groups of automorphisms of locally finite trees, and give conditions on its subgroups that imply that they are not elementary amenable. This covers all known examples of groups that are not elementary amenable and act on the trees: groups of intermediate growths and Basilica group, by giving a more straightforward proof. Moreover, we deduce that all finitely generated branch groups are not elementary amenable, which was conjectured by Grigorchuk.
An approach to a classification of groups generated by 3-state automata over a 2-letter alphabet and the current progress in this direction are presented. Several results related to the whole class are formulated. In particular, all finite, abelian, and free groups are classified. In addition, we provide detailed information and complete proofs for several groups from the class, with the intention of showing the main methods and techniques used in the classification.
The Stallings construction for finitely generated subgroups of free groups is generalized by introducing the concept of Stallings section, which allows an eficient computation of the core of a Schreier graph based on edge folding. It is proved that those groups admitting Stallings sections are precisely finitely generated virtually free groups, through a constructive approach based on Bass-Serre theory. Complexity issues and applications are also discussed.
We examine the geometry of the Cayley graph of the lamplighter group with respect to the generating set rising from its interpretation as an automata group due to Grigorchuk and Zuk. We find some metric behavior with respect to this generating set analogous to the metric behavior in the standard wreath product generating set. The similar metric behavior includes expressions for geodesic paths and families of `dead-end' elements, which are endpoints of terminating geodesic rays. We also exhibit some different metric behavior between these two generating sets related to the existence of `seesaw'…
We introduce a new geometric tool for analyzing groups of finite automata. To each finite automaton we associate a square complex. The square complex is covered by a product of two trees iff the automaton is bi-reversible. Using this method we give examples of free groups and of Kazhdan groups which are generated by the different states of one finite (bi-reversible) automaton. We also reproduce the theorem of Macedonska, Nekrashevych, Sushchansky, on the connection between bi-reversible automata and the commensurator of a regular tree.
In a seminal paper, Brin demonstrates that the outerautomorphism group of Thompson group $T$ is isomorphic to the cyclic group of order two. In this article, building on characterisation of automorphisms of the Higman-Thompson groups $G_{n,r}$ and $T_{n,r}$ as groups of transducers, we give a new proof, automata theoretic in nature, of Brin's result. We also demonstrate that the group of outerautomorphisms of Thompson's group $V = G_{2,1}$ contains an isomorphic copy of Thompson's group $F$. This extends a result of the author demonstrating that whenever $n \ge 3$ and $1 \le r < n$ the outerau…
We consider blind, deterministic, finite automata equipped with a register which stores an element of a given monoid, and which is modified by right multiplication by monoid elements. We show that, for monoids M drawn from a large class including groups, such an automaton accepts the word problem of a group H if and only if H has a finite index subgroup which embeds in the group of units of M. In the case that M is a group, this answers a question of Elston and Ostheimer.
Holt and Röver proved that finitely generated bounded automata groups have indexed co-word problem. Here we sharpen this result to show they are in fact co-ET0L.
We prove that the word problem is undecidable in functionally recursive groups, and that the order problem is undecidable in automata groups, even under the assumption that they are contracting.
This paper discusses iterated monodromy groups for transcendental functions. We show that for every post-singularly finite entire transcendental function, the iterated monodromy action can be described by bounded activity automata of a special form, called "dendroid automata". In particular, we conclude that the iterated monodromy group of a post-singularly finite entire function is amenable if and only if the monodromy group is.
We study the action of groups generated by bounded activity automata with infinite alphabets on their orbital Schreier graphs. We introduce an amenability criterion for such groups based on the recurrence of the first level action. This criterion is a natural extension of the result that all groups generated by bounded activity automata with finite alphabets are amenable. Our motivation comes from the investigation of iterated monodromy groups of entire functions.
We propose to study some properties of the $C^*$-algebra naturally built out of the fundamental action that an automaton group $G$ admits on a regular rooted trees $\tree$.
In this paper we combine the algebraic properties of Mealy machines generating self-similar groups and the combinatorial properties of the corresponding deterministic finite automata (DFA). In particular, we relate bounded automata to finitely generated synchronizing automata and characterize finite automata groups in terms of nilpotency of the corresponding DFA. Moreover, we present a decidable sufficient condition to have free semigroups in an automaton group. A series of examples and applications is widely discussed, in particular we show a way to color the De Bruijn automata into Mealy aut…
This is Chapter 24 in the "AutoMathA" handbook. Finite automata have been used effectively in recent years to define infinite groups. The two main lines of research have as their most representative objects the class of automatic groups (including word-hyperbolic groups as a particular case) and automata groups (singled out among the more general self-similar groups). The first approach implements in the language of automata some tight constraints on the geometry of the group's Cayley graph, building strange, beautiful bridges between far-off domains. Automata are used to define a normal form …
We prove that a group $G$ is locally finite if and only if every surjective real (or complex) linear cellular automaton with finite-dimensional alphabet over $G$ is injective.
We introduce a new tool, called the orbit automaton, that describes the action of an automaton group $G$ on the subtrees corresponding to the orbits of $G$ on levels of the tree. The connection between $G$ and the groups generated by the orbit automata is used to find elements of infinite order in certain automaton groups for which other methods failed to work.
In this paper we develop a dynamical scaling limit from rational dynamics to automata in tropical geometry. We compare these dynamics and induce uniform estimates of their orbits. We apply these estimates to introduce a comparison analysis of theory of automata groups in geometric group theory with analysis of rational dynamics and some PDE systems. Frameworks of characteristic properties of automata groups are inherited to the corresponding rational or PDE dynamics. As an application we study the Burnside problem in group theory and translate the property as the infinite quasi-recursiveness i…
We give a new characterization of primitive permutation groups tied to the notion of completely reachable automata. Also, we introduce sync-maximal permutation groups tied to the state complexity of the set of synchronizing words of certain associated automata and show that they are contained between the $2$-homogeneous and the primitive groups. Lastly, we define $k$-reachable groups in analogy with synchronizing groups and motivated by our characterization of primitive permutation groups. But the results show that a $k$-reachable permutation group of degree $n$ with $6 \le k \le n - 6$ is eit…
The simplest example of an infinite Burnside group arises in the class of automaton groups. However there is no known example of such a group generated by a reversible Mealy automaton. It has been proved that, for a connected automaton of size at most~3, or when the automaton is not bireversible, the generated group cannot be Burnside infinite. In this paper, we extend these results to automata with bigger stateset, proving that, if a connected reversible automaton has a prime number of states, it cannot generate an infinite Burnside group.
The growth of a finitely generated group is an important geometric invariant which has been studied for decades. It can be either polynomial, for a well-understood class of groups, or exponential, for most groups studied by geometers, or intermediate, that is between polynomial and exponential. Despite recent spectacular progresses, the class of groups with intermediate growth remains largely mysterious. Many examples of such groups are constructed using Mealy automata. The aim of this paper is to give an algorithmic procedure to study the growth of such automata groups, and more precisely to …
The question of computing the group complexity of finite semigroups and automata was first posed in K. Krohn and J. Rhodes, \textit{Complexity of finite semigroups}, Annals of Mathematics (2) \textbf{88} (1968), 128--160, motivated by the Prime Decomposition Theorem of K. Krohn and J. Rhodes, \textit{Algebraic theory of machines, {I}: {P}rime decomposition theorem for finite semigroups and machines}, Transactions of the American Mathematical Society \textbf{116} (1965), 450--464. Here we provide an effective lower bound for group complexity.
We give the automata which describe time evolution rules of the box-ball system (BBS) with a carrier. It can be shown by use of tropical geometry, such systems are ultradiscrete analogues of KdV equation. We discuss their relation with the lamplighter group generated by an automaton. We present spectral analysis of the stochastic matrices induced by these automata, and verify their spectral coincidence.
Let us say that a Cayley graph $Γ$ of a group $G$ of order $n$ is a Cerny Cayley graph if every synchronizing automaton containing $Γ$ as a subgraph with the same vertex set admits a synchronizing word of length at most $(n-1)^2$. In this paper we use the representation theory of groups over the rational numbers to obtain a number of new infinite families of {Č}ern{ý} Cayley graphs.
We introduce cellular automata whose cell spaces are left homogeneous spaces and prove a uniform as well as a topological variant of the Curtis-Hedlund-Lyndon theorem. Examples of left homogeneous spaces are spheres, Euclidean spaces, as well as hyperbolic spaces acted on by isometries; vertex-transitive graphs, in particular, Cayley graphs, acted on by automorphisms; groups acting on themselves by multiplication; and integer lattices acted on by translations.
We show that the automorphism group of a one-dimensional full shift (the group of reversible cellular automata) does not satisfy the Tits alternative. That is, we construct a finitely-generated subgroup which is not virtually solvable yet does not contain a free group on two generators. We give constructions both in the two-sided case (spatially acting group $\Z$) and the one-sided case (spatially acting monoid $\N$, alphabet size at least eight). Lack of Tits alternative follows for several groups of symbolic (dynamical) origin: automorphism groups of two-sided one-dimensional uncountable sof…
