Related papers: Toward the Combinatorial Limit Theory of Free Word…
Word $W$ is an instance of word $V$ provided there is a homomorphism $\phi$ mapping letters to nonempty words so that $\phi(V) = W$. For example, taking $\phi$ such that $\phi(c)=fr$, $\phi(o)=e$ and $\phi(l)=zer$, we see that "freezer" is…
The avoidability, or unavoidability of patterns in words over finite alphabets has been studied extensively. A word (pattern) over a finite set is said to be unavoidable if, for all but finitely many words, there exists a morphism mapping…
Word $W$ is said to encounter word $V$ provided there is a homomorphism $\phi$ mapping letters to nonempty words so that $\phi(V)$ is a substring of $W$. For example, taking $\phi$ such that $\phi(h)=c$ and $\phi(u)=ien$, we see that…
How long can a word be that avoids the unavoidable? Word $W$ encounters word $V$ provided there is a homomorphism $\phi$ defined by mapping letters to nonempty words such that $\phi(V)$ is a subword of $W$. Otherwise, $W$ is said to avoid…
These lecture notes provide an introduction to combinatorics on words and its interactions with dynamics, algebra, and arithmetic. The central theme is the notion of low factor complexity for infinite words. We investigate the following…
In combinatorics on words, a word $w$ over an alphabet $\Sigma$ is said to avoid a pattern $p$ over an alphabet $\Delta$ if there is no factor $f$ of $w$ such that $f= (p)$ where $h: \Delta^*\to\Sigma^*$ is a non-erasing morphism. A pattern…
We study a deliberately simple, fully non-linguistic model of text: a sequence of independent draws from a finite alphabet of letters plus a single space symbol. A word is defined as a maximal block of non-space symbols. Within this…
In combinatorics on words, a word $w$ over an alphabet $\Sigma$ is said to avoid a pattern $p$ over an alphabet $\Delta$ of variables if there is no factor $f$ of $w$ such that $f=h(p)$ where $h:\Delta^*\to\Sigma^*$ is a non-erasing…
We say that a finite factor $f$ of a word $w$ is \emph{imaged} if there exists a non-erasing morphism $m$, distinct from the identity, such that $w$ contains $m(f)$. We show that every infinite word contains an imaged factor of length at…
In combinatorics on words, a word $w$ over an alphabet $\Sigma$ is said to avoid a pattern $p$ over an alphabet $\Delta$ if there is no factor $f$ of $w$ such that $f=h(p)$ where $h:\Delta^*\to\Sigma^*$ is a non-erasing morphism. A pattern…
Let $w$ be a word in the free group of rank $n \in \mathbb{N}$ and let $\mathcal{V}(w)$ be the variety of groups defined by the law $w=1$. Define $\mathcal{V}(w^*)$ to be the class of all groups $G$ in which for any infinite subsets $X_1,…
We say that a word $w$ on a totally ordered alphabet avoids the word $v$ if there are no subsequences in $w$ order-equivalent to $v$. In this paper we suggest a new approach to the enumeration of words on at most $k$ letters avoiding a…
We study fibers of word maps in finite, profinite, and residually finite groups. Our main result is that, for any word w in the free group on d generators, there exists $\epsilon > 0$ such that if G is a residually finite group with…
This paper begins with a comprehensive overview of combinatorics on words and symbolic dynamics, covering their historical origins, fundamental concepts, and interconnections. Building upon this foundation, we introduce novel mathematical…
Let $f_W(n)$ be the number of different factors of length $n$ appearing in $W$. A classical result of Morse and Hedlund, stated in 1938, asserts that an infinite word $W$ is ultimately periodic if and only if $f_W(n)\leq n$ for some $n\in…
We construct an infinite word $w$ over the $5$-letter alphabet such that for every factor $f$ of $w$ of length at least two, there exists a cyclic permutation of $f$ that is not a factor of $w$. In other words, $w$ does not contain a…
We combine concepts from random matrix theory and free probability together with ideas from the theory of commutator length in groups and maps from surfaces, and establish new connections between the two. More particularly, we study…
Words are sequences of letters over a finite alphabet. We study two intimately related topics for this object: quasi-randomness and limit theory. With respect to the first topic we investigate the notion of uniform distribution of letters…
A graph $G = (V,E)$ is word-representable if there exists a word $w$ over the alphabet $V$ such that letters $x$ and $y$ alternate in $w$ if and only if $xy$ is an edge in $E$. Word-representable graphs are the subject of a long research…
We study the asymptotics and fine-scale behavior of quantitative combinatorial measures of infinite words and related dynamical and algebraic structures. We construct infinite recurrent words $w$ whose complexity functions $p_w(n)$ are…