A Myhill-Nerode Characterization and Active Learning for One-Clock Timed Automata
Formal Languages and Automata Theory
2026-04-15 v2 Logic in Computer Science
Abstract
We present a Myhill-Nerode style characterization for languages recognized by one-clock deterministic timed automata (1-DTA). Although there is only one clock, distinct automata may reset it differently along the same word. This adds a significant challenge in the search for a canonical automaton. Our characterization is based on a new perspective of 1-DTAs in terms of "half-integral" words that they accept, along with the reset information encoded by them. We apply our results to develop L* style algorithms that learn the canonical 1-DTA.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2601.15104,
title = {A Myhill-Nerode Characterization and Active Learning for One-Clock Timed Automata},
author = {Kyveli Doveri and Pierre Ganty and B. Srivathsan},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.15104},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
40 pages, 4 figures, accepted at TACAS 2026