12 Search Results for "Semukhin, Pavel"

Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.60
The Asymptotic Size of Finite Irreducible Semigroups of Rational Matrices

Authors: Stefan Kiefer and Andrew Ryzhikov

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 364, 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)

Abstract
We study finite semigroups of n × n matrices with rational entries. Such semigroups provide a rich generalization of transition monoids of unambiguous (and, in particular, deterministic) finite automata. In this paper we determine the maximum size of finite semigroups of rational n × n matrices, with the goal of shedding more light on the structure of such matrix semigroups. While in general such semigroups can be arbitrarily large in terms of n, a classical result of Schützenberger from 1962 implies an upper bound of 2^{𝒪(n² log n)} for irreducible semigroups, i.e., the only subspaces of ℚⁿ that are invariant for all matrices in the semigroup are ℚⁿ and the subspace consisting only of the zero vector. Irreducible matrix semigroups can be viewed as the building blocks of general matrix semigroups, and as such play an important role in mathematics and computer science. From the point of view of automata theory, they generalize strongly connected automata. Using a very different technique from that of Schützenberger, we improve the upper bound on the cardinality to 3^{n²}. This is the main result of the paper. The bound is in some sense tight, as we show that there exists, for every n, a finite irreducible semigroup with 3^{⌊ n²/4 ⌋} rational matrices. Our main result also leads to an improvement of a bound, due to Almeida and Steinberg, on the mortality threshold. The mortality threshold is a number 𝓁 such that if the zero matrix is in the semigroup, then the zero matrix can be written as a product of at most 𝓁 matrices from any subset that generates the semigroup.
Cite as

Stefan Kiefer and Andrew Ryzhikov. The Asymptotic Size of Finite Irreducible Semigroups of Rational Matrices. In 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 364, pp. 60:1-60:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{kiefer_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2026.60,
  author =	{Kiefer, Stefan and Ryzhikov, Andrew},
  title =	{{The Asymptotic Size of Finite Irreducible Semigroups of Rational Matrices}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)},
  pages =	{60:1--60:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-412-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{364},
  editor =	{Mahajan, Meena and Manea, Florin and McIver, Annabelle and Thắng, Nguy\~{ê}n Kim},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.60},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-255496},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.60},
  annote =	{Keywords: finite matrix semigroups, irreducible matrix semigroups, matrix mortality, aperiodic semigroups, unambiguous automata, transition monoids}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.62
The Complexity of Reachability Problems in Strongly Connected Finite Automata

Authors: Stefan Kiefer and Andrew Ryzhikov

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 345, 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)

Abstract
Several reachability problems in finite automata, such as completeness of NFAs and synchronisation of total DFAs, correspond to fundamental properties of sets of nonnegative matrices. In particular, the two mentioned properties correspond to matrix mortality and ergodicity, which ask whether there exists a product of the input matrices that is equal to, respectively, the zero matrix and a matrix with a column of strictly positive entries only. The case where the input automaton is strongly connected (that is, the corresponding set of nonnegative matrices is irreducible) frequently appears in applications and often admits better properties than the general case. In this paper, we address the existence of such properties from the computational complexity point of view, and develop a versatile technique to show that several NL-complete problems remain NL-complete in the strongly connected case. In particular, we show that deciding if a binary total DFA is synchronising is NL-complete even if it is promised to be strongly connected, and that deciding completeness of a binary unambiguous NFA with very limited nondeterminism is NL-complete under the same promise.
Cite as

Stefan Kiefer and Andrew Ryzhikov. The Complexity of Reachability Problems in Strongly Connected Finite Automata. In 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 345, pp. 62:1-62:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{kiefer_et_al:LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.62,
  author =	{Kiefer, Stefan and Ryzhikov, Andrew},
  title =	{{The Complexity of Reachability Problems in Strongly Connected Finite Automata}},
  booktitle =	{50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)},
  pages =	{62:1--62:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-388-1},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{345},
  editor =	{Gawrychowski, Pawe{\l} and Mazowiecki, Filip and Skrzypczak, Micha{\l}},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.62},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-241690},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.62},
  annote =	{Keywords: unambiguous automata, nonnegative matrices, irreducible matrix sets, strongly connected automata, matrix monoids, mortality, completeness, synchronisation, ergodicity}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.51
Word Structures and Their Automatic Presentations

Authors: Xiaoyang Gong, Bakh Khoussainov, and Yuyang Zhuge

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 345, 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)

Abstract
We study automatic presentations of the structures (ℕ; S), (ℕ; E_S), (ℕ; ≤), and their expansions by a unary predicate U. Here S is the successor function, E_S is the undirected version of S, and ≤ is the natural order. We call these structures word structures. Our goal is three-fold. First, we study the isomorphism problem for automatic word structures by focusing on the following three problems. The first problem asks to design an algorithm that, given an automatic structure A, decides if A is isomorphic to (ℕ; S). The second asks to design an algorithm that, given two automatic presentations of (ℕ; S, U₁) and (ℕ; S, U₂), where U₁ and U₂ are unary predicates, decides if these structures are isomorphic. The third problem investigates if there is an algorithm that, given two automatic presentations of (ℕ; ≤, U₁) and (ℕ; ≤, U₂), decides whether U₁ ∩ U₂ ≠ ∅. We show that these problems are undecidable. Next, we study intrinsic regularity of the function S in the structure Path_ω = (ℕ; E_S). We build an automatic presentation of Path_ω in which S is not regular. This implies that S is not intrinsically regular in Path_ω. For U ⊆ ℕ, let d_U be the function that computes the distances between the consecutive elements of U. We build automatic presentations of (ℕ; ≤, U) where d_U can realise logarithmic, radical, intermediate, and exponential functions.
Cite as

Xiaoyang Gong, Bakh Khoussainov, and Yuyang Zhuge. Word Structures and Their Automatic Presentations. In 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 345, pp. 51:1-51:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{gong_et_al:LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.51,
  author =	{Gong, Xiaoyang and Khoussainov, Bakh and Zhuge, Yuyang},
  title =	{{Word Structures and Their Automatic Presentations}},
  booktitle =	{50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)},
  pages =	{51:1--51:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-388-1},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{345},
  editor =	{Gawrychowski, Pawe{\l} and Mazowiecki, Filip and Skrzypczak, Micha{\l}},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.51},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-241581},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.51},
  annote =	{Keywords: Automatic structures, the isomorphism problem, decidability, undecidability, regular relations}
}
Document
Track B: Automata, Logic, Semantics, and Theory of Programming
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.154
Submonoid Membership in n-Dimensional Lamplighter Groups and S-Unit Equations

Authors: Ruiwen Dong

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 334, 52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025)

Abstract
We show that Submonoid Membership is decidable in n-dimensional lamplighter groups (ℤ/pℤ) ≀ ℤⁿ for any prime p and integer n. More generally, we show decidability of Submonoid Membership in semidirect products of the form 𝒴 ⋊ ℤⁿ, where 𝒴 is any finitely presented module over the Laurent polynomial ring 𝔽_p[X₁^{±}, …, X_n^{±}]. Combined with a result of Shafrir (2024), this gives the first example of a group G and a finite index subgroup G̃ ≤ G, such that Submonoid Membership is decidable in G̃ but undecidable in G. To obtain our decidability result, we reduce Submonoid Membership in 𝒴 ⋊ ℤⁿ to solving S-unit equations over 𝔽_p[X₁^{±}, …, X_n^{±}]-modules. We show that the solution set of such equations is effectively p-automatic, extending a result of Adamczewski and Bell (2012). As an intermediate result, we also obtain that the solution set of the Knapsack Problem in 𝒴 ⋊ ℤⁿ is effectively p-automatic.
Cite as

Ruiwen Dong. Submonoid Membership in n-Dimensional Lamplighter Groups and S-Unit Equations. In 52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 334, pp. 154:1-154:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{dong:LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.154,
  author =	{Dong, Ruiwen},
  title =	{{Submonoid Membership in n-Dimensional Lamplighter Groups and S-Unit Equations}},
  booktitle =	{52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025)},
  pages =	{154:1--154:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-372-0},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{334},
  editor =	{Censor-Hillel, Keren and Grandoni, Fabrizio and Ouaknine, Jo\"{e}l and Puppis, Gabriele},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.154},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-235316},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.154},
  annote =	{Keywords: Submonoid Membership, lamplighter groups, S-unit equations, p-automatic sets, Knapsack in groups}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2025.61
Efficiently Computing the Minimum Rank of a Matrix in a Monoid of Zero-One Matrices

Authors: Stefan Kiefer and Andrew Ryzhikov

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 327, 42nd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2025)

Abstract
A zero-one matrix is a matrix with entries from {0, 1}. We study monoids containing only such matrices. A finite set of zero-one matrices generating such a monoid can be seen as the matrix representation of an unambiguous finite automaton, an important generalisation of deterministic finite automata which shares many of their good properties. Let 𝒜 be a finite set of n×n zero-one matrices generating a monoid of zero-one matrices, and m be the cardinality of 𝒜. We study the computational complexity of computing the minimum rank of a matrix in the monoid generated by 𝒜. By using linear-algebraic techniques, we show that this problem is in NC and can be solved in 𝒪(mn⁴) time. We also provide a combinatorial algorithm finding a matrix of minimum rank in 𝒪(n^{2 + ω} + mn⁴) time, where 2 ≤ ω ≤ 2.4 is the matrix multiplication exponent. As a byproduct, we show a very weak version of a generalisation of the Černý conjecture: there always exists a straight line program of size 𝒪(n²) describing a product resulting in a matrix of minimum rank. For the special case corresponding to complete DFAs (that is, for the case where all matrices have exactly one 1 in each row), the minimum rank is the size of the smallest image of the set of states under the action of a word. Our combinatorial algorithm finds a matrix of minimum rank in time 𝒪(n³ + mn²) in this case.
Cite as

Stefan Kiefer and Andrew Ryzhikov. Efficiently Computing the Minimum Rank of a Matrix in a Monoid of Zero-One Matrices. In 42nd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 327, pp. 61:1-61:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{kiefer_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2025.61,
  author =	{Kiefer, Stefan and Ryzhikov, Andrew},
  title =	{{Efficiently Computing the Minimum Rank of a Matrix in a Monoid of Zero-One Matrices}},
  booktitle =	{42nd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2025)},
  pages =	{61:1--61:22},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-365-2},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{327},
  editor =	{Beyersdorff, Olaf and Pilipczuk, Micha{\l} and Pimentel, Elaine and Thắng, Nguy\~{ê}n Kim},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2025.61},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-228867},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2025.61},
  annote =	{Keywords: matrix monoids, minimum rank, unambiguous automata}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2021.15
Decision Questions for Probabilistic Automata on Small Alphabets

Authors: Paul C. Bell and Pavel Semukhin

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 202, 46th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2021)

Abstract
We study the emptiness and λ-reachability problems for unary and binary Probabilistic Finite Automata (PFA) and characterise the complexity of these problems in terms of the degree of ambiguity of the automaton and the size of its alphabet. Our main result is that emptiness and λ-reachability are solvable in EXPTIME for polynomially ambiguous unary PFA and if, in addition, the transition matrix is over {0, 1}, we show they are in NP. In contrast to the Skolem-hardness of the λ-reachability and emptiness problems for exponentially ambiguous unary PFA, we show that these problems are NP-hard even for finitely ambiguous unary PFA. For binary polynomially ambiguous PFA with commuting transition matrices, we prove NP-hardness of the λ-reachability (dimension 9), nonstrict emptiness (dimension 37) and strict emptiness (dimension 40) problems.
Cite as

Paul C. Bell and Pavel Semukhin. Decision Questions for Probabilistic Automata on Small Alphabets. In 46th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2021). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 202, pp. 15:1-15:17, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2021)

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@InProceedings{bell_et_al:LIPIcs.MFCS.2021.15,
  author =	{Bell, Paul C. and Semukhin, Pavel},
  title =	{{Decision Questions for Probabilistic Automata on Small Alphabets}},
  booktitle =	{46th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2021)},
  pages =	{15:1--15:17},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-201-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2021},
  volume =	{202},
  editor =	{Bonchi, Filippo and Puglisi, Simon J.},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2021.15},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-144559},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2021.15},
  annote =	{Keywords: Probabilistic finite automata, unary alphabet, emptiness problem, bounded ambiguity}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2021.6
Linear-Time Model Checking Branching Processes

Authors: Stefan Kiefer, Pavel Semukhin, and Cas Widdershoven

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 203, 32nd International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2021)

Abstract
(Multi-type) branching processes are a natural and well-studied model for generating random infinite trees. Branching processes feature both nondeterministic and probabilistic branching, generalizing both transition systems and Markov chains (but not generally Markov decision processes). We study the complexity of model checking branching processes against linear-time omega-regular specifications: is it the case almost surely that every branch of a tree randomly generated by the branching process satisfies the omega-regular specification? The main result is that for LTL specifications this problem is in PSPACE, subsuming classical results for transition systems and Markov chains, respectively. The underlying general model-checking algorithm is based on the automata-theoretic approach, using unambiguous Büchi automata.
Cite as

Stefan Kiefer, Pavel Semukhin, and Cas Widdershoven. Linear-Time Model Checking Branching Processes. In 32nd International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2021). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 203, pp. 6:1-6:16, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2021)

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@InProceedings{kiefer_et_al:LIPIcs.CONCUR.2021.6,
  author =	{Kiefer, Stefan and Semukhin, Pavel and Widdershoven, Cas},
  title =	{{Linear-Time Model Checking Branching Processes}},
  booktitle =	{32nd International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2021)},
  pages =	{6:1--6:16},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-203-7},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2021},
  volume =	{203},
  editor =	{Haddad, Serge and Varacca, Daniele},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2021.6},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-143834},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2021.6},
  annote =	{Keywords: model checking, Markov chains, branching processes, automata, computational complexity}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2020.22
Decidability of Cutpoint Isolation for Probabilistic Finite Automata on Letter-Bounded Inputs

Authors: Paul C. Bell and Pavel Semukhin

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 171, 31st International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2020)

Abstract
We show the surprising result that the cutpoint isolation problem is decidable for probabilistic finite automata where input words are taken from a letter-bounded context-free language. A context-free language ℒ is letter-bounded when ℒ ⊆ a₁^* a₂^* ⋯ a_𝓁^* for some finite 𝓁 > 0 where each letter is distinct. A cutpoint is isolated when it cannot be approached arbitrarily closely. The decidability of this problem is in marked contrast to the situation for the (strict) emptiness problem for PFA which is undecidable under the even more severe restrictions of PFA with polynomial ambiguity, commutative matrices and input over a letter-bounded language as well as to the injectivity problem which is undecidable for PFA over letter-bounded languages. We provide a constructive nondeterministic algorithm to solve the cutpoint isolation problem, which holds even when the PFA is exponentially ambiguous. We also show that the problem is at least NP-hard and use our decision procedure to solve several related problems.
Cite as

Paul C. Bell and Pavel Semukhin. Decidability of Cutpoint Isolation for Probabilistic Finite Automata on Letter-Bounded Inputs. In 31st International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2020). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 171, pp. 22:1-22:16, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2020)

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@InProceedings{bell_et_al:LIPIcs.CONCUR.2020.22,
  author =	{Bell, Paul C. and Semukhin, Pavel},
  title =	{{Decidability of Cutpoint Isolation for Probabilistic Finite Automata on Letter-Bounded Inputs}},
  booktitle =	{31st International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2020)},
  pages =	{22:1--22:16},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-160-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2020},
  volume =	{171},
  editor =	{Konnov, Igor and Kov\'{a}cs, Laura},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2020.22},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-128344},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2020.22},
  annote =	{Keywords: Probabilistic finite automata, cutpoint isolation problem, letter-bounded context-free languages}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2019.83
On the Mortality Problem: From Multiplicative Matrix Equations to Linear Recurrence Sequences and Beyond

Authors: Paul C. Bell, Igor Potapov, and Pavel Semukhin

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 138, 44th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2019)

Abstract
We consider the following variant of the Mortality Problem: given k x k matrices A_1, A_2, ...,A_{t}, does there exist nonnegative integers m_1, m_2, ...,m_t such that the product A_1^{m_1} A_2^{m_2} * ... * A_{t}^{m_{t}} is equal to the zero matrix? It is known that this problem is decidable when t <= 2 for matrices over algebraic numbers but becomes undecidable for sufficiently large t and k even for integral matrices. In this paper, we prove the first decidability results for t>2. We show as one of our central results that for t=3 this problem in any dimension is Turing equivalent to the well-known Skolem problem for linear recurrence sequences. Our proof relies on the Primary Decomposition Theorem for matrices that was not used to show decidability results in matrix semigroups before. As a corollary we obtain that the above problem is decidable for t=3 and k <= 3 for matrices over algebraic numbers and for t=3 and k=4 for matrices over real algebraic numbers. Another consequence is that the set of triples (m_1,m_2,m_3) for which the equation A_1^{m_1} A_2^{m_2} A_3^{m_3} equals the zero matrix is equal to a finite union of direct products of semilinear sets. For t=4 we show that the solution set can be non-semilinear, and thus it seems unlikely that there is a direct connection to the Skolem problem. However we prove that the problem is still decidable for upper-triangular 2 x 2 rational matrices by employing powerful tools from transcendence theory such as Baker’s theorem and S-unit equations.
Cite as

Paul C. Bell, Igor Potapov, and Pavel Semukhin. On the Mortality Problem: From Multiplicative Matrix Equations to Linear Recurrence Sequences and Beyond. In 44th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2019). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 138, pp. 83:1-83:15, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2019)

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@InProceedings{bell_et_al:LIPIcs.MFCS.2019.83,
  author =	{Bell, Paul C. and Potapov, Igor and Semukhin, Pavel},
  title =	{{On the Mortality Problem: From Multiplicative Matrix Equations to Linear Recurrence Sequences and Beyond}},
  booktitle =	{44th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2019)},
  pages =	{83:1--83:15},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-117-7},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2019},
  volume =	{138},
  editor =	{Rossmanith, Peter and Heggernes, Pinar and Katoen, Joost-Pieter},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2019.83},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-110279},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2019.83},
  annote =	{Keywords: Linear recurrence sequences, Skolem’s problem, mortality problem, matrix equations, primary decomposition theorem, Baker’s theorem}
}
Document
Track A: Algorithms, Complexity and Games
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2019.44
On Reachability Problems for Low-Dimensional Matrix Semigroups

Authors: Thomas Colcombet, Joël Ouaknine, Pavel Semukhin, and James Worrell

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 132, 46th International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2019)

Abstract
We consider the Membership and the Half-Space Reachability problems for matrices in dimensions two and three. Our first main result is that the Membership Problem is decidable for finitely generated sub-semigroups of the Heisenberg group over rational numbers. Furthermore, we prove two decidability results for the Half-Space Reachability Problem. Namely, we show that this problem is decidable for sub-semigroups of GL(2,Z) and of the Heisenberg group over rational numbers.
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Thomas Colcombet, Joël Ouaknine, Pavel Semukhin, and James Worrell. On Reachability Problems for Low-Dimensional Matrix Semigroups. In 46th International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2019). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 132, pp. 44:1-44:15, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2019)

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@InProceedings{colcombet_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2019.44,
  author =	{Colcombet, Thomas and Ouaknine, Jo\"{e}l and Semukhin, Pavel and Worrell, James},
  title =	{{On Reachability Problems for Low-Dimensional Matrix Semigroups}},
  booktitle =	{46th International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2019)},
  pages =	{44:1--44:15},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-109-2},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2019},
  volume =	{132},
  editor =	{Baier, Christel and Chatzigiannakis, Ioannis and Flocchini, Paola and Leonardi, Stefano},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2019.44},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-106209},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2019.44},
  annote =	{Keywords: membership problem, half-space reachability problem, matrix semigroups, Heisenberg group, general linear group}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2017.44
Membership Problem in GL(2, Z) Extended by Singular Matrices

Authors: Igor Potapov and Pavel Semukhin

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 83, 42nd International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2017)

Abstract
We consider the membership problem for matrix semigroups, which is the problem to decide whether a matrix belongs to a given finitely generated matrix semigroup. In general, the decidability and complexity of this problem for two-dimensional matrix semigroups remains open. Recently there was a significant progress with this open problem by showing that the membership is decidable for 2x2 nonsingular integer matrices. In this paper we focus on the membership for singular integer matrices and prove that this problem is decidable for 2x2 integer matrices whose determinants are equal to 0, 1, -1 (i.e. for matrices from GL(2,Z) and any singular matrices). Our algorithm relies on a translation of numerical problems on matrices into combinatorial problems on words and conversion of the membership problem into decision problem on regular languages.
Cite as

Igor Potapov and Pavel Semukhin. Membership Problem in GL(2, Z) Extended by Singular Matrices. In 42nd International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2017). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 83, pp. 44:1-44:13, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2017)

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@InProceedings{potapov_et_al:LIPIcs.MFCS.2017.44,
  author =	{Potapov, Igor and Semukhin, Pavel},
  title =	{{Membership Problem in GL(2, Z) Extended by Singular Matrices}},
  booktitle =	{42nd International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2017)},
  pages =	{44:1--44:13},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-046-0},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2017},
  volume =	{83},
  editor =	{Larsen, Kim G. and Bodlaender, Hans L. and Raskin, Jean-Francois},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2017.44},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-80737},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2017.44},
  annote =	{Keywords: Matrix Semigroups, Membership Problem, General Linear Group, Singular Matrices, Automata and Formal Languages}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2016.84
Vector Reachability Problem in SL(2, Z)

Authors: Igor Potapov and Pavel Semukhin

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 58, 41st International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2016)

Abstract
The decision problems on matrices were intensively studied for many decades as matrix products play an essential role in the representation of various computational processes. However, many computational problems for matrix semigroups are inherently difficult to solve even for problems in low dimensions and most matrix semigroup problems become undecidable in general starting from dimension three or four. This paper solves two open problems about the decidability of the vector reachability problem over a finitely generated semigroup of matrices from SL(2, Z) and the point to point reachability (over rational numbers) for fractional linear transformations, where associated matrices are from SL(2, Z). The approach to solving reachability problems is based on the characterization of reachability paths between points which is followed by the translation of numerical problems on matrices into computational and combinatorial problems on words and formal languages. We also give a geometric interpretation of reachability paths and extend the decidability results to matrix products represented by arbitrary labelled directed graphs. Finally, we will use this technique to prove that a special case of the scalar reachability problem is decidable.
Cite as

Igor Potapov and Pavel Semukhin. Vector Reachability Problem in SL(2, Z). In 41st International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2016). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 58, pp. 84:1-84:14, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2016)

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@InProceedings{potapov_et_al:LIPIcs.MFCS.2016.84,
  author =	{Potapov, Igor and Semukhin, Pavel},
  title =	{{Vector Reachability Problem in SL(2, Z)}},
  booktitle =	{41st International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2016)},
  pages =	{84:1--84:14},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-016-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2016},
  volume =	{58},
  editor =	{Faliszewski, Piotr and Muscholl, Anca and Niedermeier, Rolf},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2016.84},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-64925},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2016.84},
  annote =	{Keywords: matrix semigroup, vector reachability problem, special linear group, linear fractional transformation, automata and formal languages}
}
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