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The number of states in a two-way nondeterministic finite automaton (2NFA) needed to represent intersection of languages given by an m-state 2NFA and an n-state 2NFA is shown to be at least m+n and at most m+n+1. For the union operation, the number of states is exactly m+n. The lower bound is established for languages over a one-letter alphabet. The key point of the argument is the following number-theoretic lemma: for all m, n ≥ 2 with m, n ≠ 6 (and with finitely many other exceptions), there exist partitions m = p1 +⋯+ pk and n = q1 +⋯+ql, where all numbers p1,⋯ , pk, q1,⋯ , ql ≥ 2 are powers of pairwise distinct primes. For completeness, an analogous statement about partitions of any two numbers m, n ∉ {4, 6} (with a few more exceptions) into sums of pairwise distinct primes is established as well.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 231-239 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Fundamenta Informaticae |
Volume | 110 |
Issue number | 1-4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 20 Sep 2011 |
ID: 41140828