arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Bjørn Kjos-Hanssen.
We show that if an automorphism $π$ of the truth-table degrees is induced by a Baire measurable function $F\colon 2^ω\to 2^ω$, or merely induced on some comeager set by a continuous function, then $π$ is the identity. The same results hold for the weak truth-table degrees. The argument is an adaptation to truth-table reducibility of OpenAI's recent proof that the Turing degrees are rigid.
We introduce the quantum Černý complexity $\mathrm{qc}(w)$ of a binary word $w$: the least dimension $d$ for which there exist quantum channels $A_0,A_1$ on $d\times d$ density matrices and a start state $ρ_0$ such that $w$ is the unique shortest word whose associated channel is constant on the reachable set. We show that $2\le\mathrm{qc}(w)\le\lceil\sqrt{|w|+1}\,\rceil$ for every nonempty $w$, a quadratic saving over the classical analogue, and that constant words are extremal: $\mathrm{qc}(0^m)=\lceil\sqrt{m+1}\,\rceil$. In contrast, $\mathrm{qc}(01^n0)=2$ for every $n\ge 1$, realized by a single qubit whose rotation angle acts as a counter; consequently there is no quantum analogue of the Černý function, and $\mathrm{qc}$ is strongly anti-correlated with intuitive notions of descriptive complexity. We further study the variant $\mathrm{qcp}$ in which the synchronization target is required to be a pure state. We prove that in dimension $2$ no word of length at least $2$ can be a unique shortest synchronizing word with pure target, and we exhibit an explicit qutrit instance, combining a coherent rotation with a measure-and-funnel channel, achieving $\mathrm{qcp}(01^n0)=3$ with target a computational basis state and with synchronization holding universally over all input states. Thus purity of the reset state costs exactly one dimension on this family. We also observe that $\mathrm{qc}$ is computable, by reduction to the first-order theory of the reals.
Let $X$ be a finite set with $|X|=n$ and let $\mathrm{Jac}(a,b)=|a\,\triangle\, b|/|a\cup b|$ be the Jaccard distance on the power set $2^X$. Lladser and Paradise recently proved that the metric dimension of $(2^X,\mathrm{Jac})$ is $Θ(n/\ln n)$, with the constant left open; their bounds are $(\ln 2)\,n/\ln n\lesssim β(2^X,\mathrm{Jac})\lesssim 2\ln(2e)\,n/\ln n$. We determine the constant: \[ β(2^X,\mathrm{Jac})=\frac{2n}{\log_2 n}\,(1+o(1))=(2\ln 2)\,\frac{n}{\ln n}\,(1+o(1)). \] The proof identifies the problem, on each ``slice'' of subsets of fixed cardinality, with the Erdős--Rényi coin-weighing problem for a spring scale (the problem of \emph{detecting matrices}). The lower bound is the Erdős--Rényi entropy argument applied to the middle slice; the upper bound follows from the explicit detecting families of Lindström and of Cantor and Mills, augmented by a single extra landmark that reveals cardinality.
The exact nondeterministic automatic complexity $A_{Ne}(x)$ of a word $x$ is the minimum number of states of a nondeterministic finite automaton that accepts $x$ and no other word of length $|x|$; the unique nondeterministic automatic complexity $A_N(x)$ additionally requires the accepting computation to be unique. Chen, Kjos-Hanssen, Koswara, Richter, and Stephan (FSTTCS 2025) asked whether the two measures can differ. We answer this affirmatively: the binary word $w=1101000000100$ satisfies $A_{Ne}(w)=6<7=A_N(w)$. The separation is witnessed by a six-state automaton whose sole accepted word of length $13$ is $w$, accepted along exactly three computation paths. The matching lower bounds were established by exhaustive search and by SAT solvers, with proofs of unsatisfiability certified in the DRAT format. An exhaustive census shows that $13$ is the least length of a separating word over any alphabet, binary or not, and that up to renaming of letters the separating words of length $13$ are precisely $365$ letter-mergings of the single seven-letter word $0123444445126$, all with $A_{Ne}=6<7=A_N$; exactly eight of them are binary. The separating word and the core of the verification were found by an artificial intelligence agent.
Gill (arXiv:2402.13376) introduced the probabilistic automatic complexity $A_P(w)$ of a finite string $w$: the least number of states of a probabilistic finite automaton (PFA) for which $w$ is the unique most probably accepted string of its length. He asked whether $A_P$ is unbounded, noting that no string with $A_P > 3$ was known (Question 4.14 of that paper). We answer the question by proving that $A_P(w)\le 3$ for every string $w$ over every finite alphabet. The witnessing three-state automaton is explicit: its reduced dynamics tracks the pair $(u,u^2)$, where $u$ is the reversed base-$b$ value of the input, and its acceptance functional is a downward parabola peaked at the value of the target string. Combined with Gill's classification of the binary strings with $A_P=2$, this completely determines $A_P$ on binary strings.
Carmo and Jones have presented a sequence of candidate axiom systems for conditional obligation between 1997 and 2022. For their most recent system we demonstrate a limited form of deontic explosion: given that a student does not get the highest possible grade on a test, any other passing grade is acceptable. In addition to that negative result, we give a positive one: revisiting the strongest version of Carmo and Jones' 1997 system, we provide a surprising classification of all satisfying models in terms of a single forbidden possible world.
Grudka, Karczewski, Kurzynski, Stempin, Wójcik and Wojcik (2025) constructed quantum channels with synchronizing words of length 3 for qutrits. We extend their result to arbitrarily long minimal synchronizing words, providing a contrast to Černý's conjecture for finite automata.
The hydrophobic-polar (HP) model represents proteins as binary strings embedded in lattices, with fold quality measured by an energy score. We prove that the optimal fold energy is not monotonic under concatenation for several standard lattices, including the 2D and 3D rectangular, hexagonal, and triangular lattices. In other words, concatenating two polymers can produce a fold with strictly worse optimal energy than one of the polymers alone. For closed chains, we show that under the levels-of-hydrophobicity model of Agarwala et al. (1997), proper links can arise as uniquely optimal folds, revealing an unexpected connection between HP models and knot/link theory.
The automatic complexity of a finite word (string) is an analogue for finite automata of Sipser's distinguishing complexity (1983) and was introduced by Shallit and Wang (2001). For a finite alphabet $Σ$ of at least two elements, we consider the non-deterministic automatic complexity given by exactly - yet not necessarily uniquely - accepting automata: a word $x \in Σ^*$ has exact non-deterministic automatic complexity $k \in \mathbb{N}$ if there exists a non-deterministic automaton of $k$ states which accepts $x$ while rejecting every other word of the same length as $x$, and no automaton of fewer states has this property. Importantly, and in contrast to the classical notion, the witnessing automaton may have multiple paths of computation accepting $x$. We denote this measure of complexity by $A_{Ne}$, and study a class of languages of low $A_{Ne}$-complexity defined as $L_q = \{ \, x \in Σ^* : A_{Ne}(x) < q|x| \, \}$, which is parameterised by rationals $q \in (0,1/2)$ (generalising a class of sets first studied by Kjos-Hanssen). We show that for every $q \in (0,1/2)$, this class is neither context-free nor recognisable by certain Boolean circuits. In the process, we answer an open question of Kjos-Hanssen quantifying the complexity of $L_{1/3}$ in terms of Boolean circuits, and also prove the Shannon effect for $A_{Ne}$.
Li, Chen, Li, Ma, and Vitányi (2004) introduced a similarity metric based on Kolmogorov complexity. It followed work by Shannon in the 1950s on a metric based on entropy. We define two computable similarity metrics, analogous to the Jaccard distance and Normalized Information Distance, based on conditional automatic complexity and show that they satisfy all axioms of metric spaces.
Jiménez, Becerra, and Gelbukh (2013) defined a family of "symmetric Tversky ratio models" $S_{α,β}$, $0\leα\le 1$, $β>0$. Each function $D_{α,β}=1-S_{α,β}$ is a semimetric on the powerset of a given finite set. We show that $D_{α,β}$ is a metric if and only if $0\leα\le \frac12$ and $β\ge 1/(1-α)$. This result is formally verified in the Lean proof assistant. The extreme points of this parametrized space of metrics are $\mathcal V_1=D_{1/2,2}$, the Jaccard distance, and $\mathcal V_{\infty}=D_{0,1}$, an analogue of the normalized information distance of M. Li, Chen, X. Li, Ma, and Vitányi (2004). As a second interpolation, in general we also show that $\mathcal V_p$ is a metric, $1\le p\le\infty$, where $$Δ_p(A,B)=(|B\setminus A|^p+|A\setminus B|^p)^{1/p},$$ $$\mathcal V_p(A,B)=\frac{Δ_p(A,B)}{|A\cap B| + Δ_p(A,B)}.$$
Shallit and Wang showed that the automatic complexity $A(x)$ satisfies $A(x)\ge n/13$ for almost all $x\in{\{\mathtt{0},\mathtt{1}\}}^n$. They also stated that Holger Petersen had informed them that the constant 13 can be reduced to 7. Here we show that it can be reduced to $2+ε$ for any $ε>0$. The result also applies to nondeterministic automatic complexity $A_N(x)$. In that setting the result is tight inasmuch as $A_N(x)\le n/2+1$ for all $x$.
Let $A_N$ denote nondeterministic automatic complexity and \[ L_{k,c}=\{x\in [k]^* : A_N(x)> |x|/c\}. \] In particular, $L_{k,2}$ is the language of all $k$-ary words for which $A_N$ is maximal, while $L_{k,3}$ gives a rough dividing line between complex and simple. Let $\mathbf{CFL}$ denote the complexity class consisting of all context-free languages. While it is not known that $L_{2,2}$ is infinite, Kjos-Hanssen (2017) showed that $L_{3,2}$ is $\mathbf{CFL}$-immune but not $\mathbf{coCFL}$-immune. We complete the picture by showing that $L_{3,2}\not\in\mathbf{coCFL}$. Turning to Boolean circuit complexity, we show that $L_{2,3}$ is $\mathbf{SAC}^0$-immune and $\mathbf{SAC}^0$-coimmune. Here $\mathbf{SAC}^0$ denotes the complexity class consisting of all languages computed by (non-uniform) constant-depth circuits with semi-unbounded fanin. As for arithmetic circuits, we show that $\{x:A_N(x)>1\}\not\in\oplus\mathbf{SAC}^0$. In particular, $\mathbf{SAC}^0\not\subseteq\oplus \mathbf{SAC}^0$, which resolves an open implication from the Complexity Zoo.
Câmpeanu and Ho (2004) determined the maximum finite state complexity of finite languages, building on work of Champarnaud and Pin (1989). They stated that it is very difficult to determine the number of maximum-complexity languages. Here we give a formula for this number. We also generalize their work from languages to functions on finite sets.
While it is not known whether each real that is Kolmogorov-Loveland random is Martin-Löf random, i.e., whether $\mathrm{KLR}\subseteq\mathrm{MLR}$, Kjos-Hanssen and Webb (2021) showed that $\mathrm{MLR}$ is truth-table Medvedev reducible ($\le_{s,tt}$) to $\mathrm{KLR}$. They did this by studying a natural class Either(MLR) and showing that $\mathrm{MLR}\le_{s,tt}\mathrm{Either(MLR)}\supseteq\mathrm{KLR}$. We show that Degtev's stronger reducibilities (positive and linear) do not suffice for the reduction of MLR to Either(MLR), and some related results.
Let $NFA_b(q)$ denote the set of languages accepted by nondeterministic finite automata with $q$ states over an alphabet with $b$ letters. Let $B_n$ denote the set of words of length $n$. We give a quadratic lower bound on the VC dimension of \[ NFA_2(q)\cap B_n = \{L\cap B_n \mid L \in NFA_2(q)\} \] as a function of $q$. Next, the work of Gruber and Holzer (2007) gives an upper bound for the nondeterministic state complexity of finite languages contained in $B_n$, which we strengthen using our methods. Finally, we give some theoretical and experimental results on the dependence on $n$ of the VC dimension and testing dimension of $NFA_2(q)\cap B_n$.
We show that the (truth-table) Medvedev degree KLR of Kolmogorov--Loveland randomness coincides with that of Martin Löf randomness, MLR, answering a question of Miyabe. Next, an analogue of complex packing dimension is studied which gives rise to a set of weak truth-table Medvedev degrees isomorphic to the Turing degrees.
Xiang Li (1983) introduced what are now called constructively immune sets as an effective version of immunity. Such have been studied in relation to randomness and minimal indices, and we add another application area: numberings of the rationals. We also investigate the Turing degrees of constructively immune sets and the closely related $Σ^0_1$-dense sets of Ferbus-Zanda and Grigorieff (2008).