Bøger af Mark V. Lawson

Interest in semigroup theory and automata is currently on the rise, and the ideas of finite automata are becoming more accepted by the mathematical community. The time is right to begin introducing those ideas to students in mathematics and theoretical computer science. This book presents a well-motivated introduction to finite automata and semigroup theory and makes clear connections to other areas, including combinatorial group theory and symbolic dynamics as well as formal language theory and aspects of theoretical computer science. The author develops the underlying algebra gently but rigorously and includes more than 200 exercises with hints and solutions.

Symmetry is an organizing principle in the natural sciences. It has been usual in mathematics to identify the study of symmetry with the study of groups. It is a premise of this text, that there are aspects of symmetry which are represented by a generalization of groups called inverse semigroups.

Presents an introduction to finite automata and semigroup theory and makes clear connections to other areas, including combinatorial group theory and symbolic dynamics as well as formal language theory and aspects of theoretical computer science.