Formal Languages and Automata Theory 1

UNIT VI

Objective:
To understand and design Turing Machines for the given recursively enumerable languages.

Syllabus:
Turing Machine: Turing Machine, model, Design of TM, Types of Turing Machines, Computable
functions, Recursively enumerable languages, church‘s hypothesis.
Computability Theory: Decidability of problems, universal Turing Machine, Undecidability of posts
correspondence problem, Turing reducibility, definition of P and NP problems, NP complete and NP hard
problems.

Learning Outcomes:
Students will be able to:
 understand turing machine and its model.
 design Turing Machine’s for Recursively Enumerable languages.
 define P and NP class of problems.
 define decidability and undecidability of problems.

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Learning Material

Turing Machine:
A Turing machine (TM) is denoted by

The Turing Machine Model:

 The basic model has a finite control, an input tape that is divided into cells, and a tape head that
scans one cell of the tape at a time.
 The tape has a leftmost cell but is infinite to the right. Each cell of the tape may hold exactly one
of a finite number of tape symbols.
 Initially, the n leftmost cells, for some finite n ≥ 0, hold the input, which is a string of symbols
chosen from a subset of the tape symbols called the input symbols.
 The remaining infinity of cells each hold the blank, which is a special tape symbol that is not an
input symbol.

Moves of Turning Machine

In one move the Turing machine, depending upon the symbol scanned by the tape head and the state of
the finite control,
1) changes state,
2) prints a symbol on the tape cell scanned, replacing what was written there, and
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3) moves its head left or right one cell.

Note : The difference between a Turing machine and a two-way finite automaton lies in the former's
ability to change symbols on its tape.

Instantaneous description (ID):

 Instantaneous description of the Turing machine M is denoted by α1qα2.
 Here q, the current state of M, is in Q; α1α2 is the string in Г* that is the contents of the tape up to
the rightmost nonblank symbol or the symbol to the left of the head, whichever is rightmost.
(Observe that the blank B may occur in α1α2.).
 The tape head is assumed to be scanning the leftmost symbol of α2, or if α2 = ε, the head is
scanning a blank.

Acceptance by Turning Machine

The language accepted by M, denoted L(M), is the set of those words in ∑* that cause M to enter a final
state when placed, justified at the left, on the tape of M, , with M in state q0, and the tape head of M at
the leftmost cell.
Formally, the language accepted by M = (Q,∑,Г,δ,q0,B,F) is

Example:

Design a TM to accept the language L = {0n1n | n≥1}.

Initially, the tape of M contains 0n1n followed by infinity of blanks.

Repeatedly, M replaces the leftmost 0 by X, moves right to the leftmost 1, replacing it by Y,, moves left
to find the rightmost X, then moves one cell right to the leftmost 0 and repeats the cycle.
If, however, when searching for a 1, M finds a blank instead, , then M halts without accepting.
If, after changing a 1 to a Y, M finds no more 0's, then M checks that no more 1's remain, accepting if
there are none.

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The function δ

Transition Diagram

String Verfication by Turning Machine

A computation of M

Types of Turing Machines:

i) Two-way infinite tape:
A Turing machine with a two-way infinite tape is denoted by M = (Q,∑,Г,δ,q0,B,F). As its name
implies, the tape is infinite to the left as well as to the right. We denote an ID of such a device as for
the one-way infinite TM. We imagine, however, that there is an infinity of blank cells both to the left
and right of the current nonblank portion of the tape.

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ii) Multitape Turing machines:

A multitape Turing machine consists of a finite control with k tape heads and k tapes; each tape is
infinite in both directions.. On a single move, depending on the state of the finite control and the
symbol scanned by each of the tape heads, the machine can:
1) change state;
2) print a new symbol on each of the cells scanned by its tape heads;
3) move each of its tape heads,, independently, one cell to the left or right, or keep it stationary.
Initially, the input appears on the first tape, and the other tapes are blank.

iii) Nondeterministic Turing machines:

A nondeterministic Turing machine is a device with a finite control and a single, one-way infinite
tape. For a given state and tape symbol scanned by the tape head, the machine has a finite number of
choices for the next move. Each choice consists of a new state, a tape symbol to print, and a direction
of head motion. Note that the nondeterministic TM is not permitted to make a move in which the next
state is selected from one choice, and the symbol printed and/or direction of head motion are selected
from other choices. The nondeterministic TM accepts its input if any sequence of choices of moves
leads to an accepting state.

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iv) Multidimensional Turing machines:

The device has the usual finite control, but the tape consists of a k-dimensional array of cells infinite
in all 2k directions, for some fixed k. Depending on the state and symbol scanned, the device changes
state, prints a new symbol, and moves its tape head in one of 2k directions, either positively or
negatively, along one of the k axes. Initially, the input is along one axis, and the head is at the left end
of the input. At any time, only a finite number of rows in any dimension contain nonblank symbols,
and these rows each have only a finite number of nonblank symbols.

v) Multihead Turing machines:

A k-head Turing machine has some fixed number,,k, of heads. The heads are numbered 1 through k,,
and a move of the TM depends on the state and on the symbol scanned by each head.. In one move,
the heads may each move independently left,, right, or remain stationary.

vi) Off-line Turing machines:

An off-line Turing machine is a multitape TM whose input tape is read-only. Usually we surround the
input by endmarkers, ⊄ on the left and $ on the right. The Turing machine is not allowed to move the
input tape head off the region between ⊄ and $.
Recursive function: a function which calls itself directly or indirectly and terminates after finite number
of steps.

Total recursive function

 A function is called total recursive function if it is defined for all its arguments.
 Let f(a1,a2.....,a) be a function and defined on function g(b1,b2,....,bm), then f is total function if
every element of f is assigned to some unique element of function g.

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 From the definition it is clear that total recursive function is the subset of partial recursive
function.
 All those partial functions for which TM halts are called total recursive functions.

Partial recursive function

 A function is called partial recursive function if it is defined for some of its arguments.
 Let f(a1,a2.....,a) be a function and defined on function g(b1,b2,....,bm), then f is partial function if
some elements of f is assigned to almost one element of function g.
 Partial recursive function are turing computable.It means that there exist a turing machine for
every partial recursive function.

Recursively enumerable languages

A language that is accepted by a Turing machine is said to be recursively enumerable (r.e.).

 Recursively enumerable languages are equivalent to the class of partial recursive functions.

Recursive Language:
A subclass of the r.e. sets, called the recursive sets, which are those languages accepted by at least one
Turing machine that halts on all inputs.

Church's Hypothesis:
The assumption that the intuitive notion of "computable function" can be identified with the class of
partial recursive functions is known as Church's hypothesis or the Church-Turing thesis.

Decidable and undecidable problems:

 A problem whose language is recursive is said to be decidable.
 A problem is undecidable if there is no algorithm that takes as input an instance of the problem
and determines whether the answer to that instance is "yes" or "no."

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Post's Correspondence Problem:

An instance of Post's Correspondence Problem (PCP) consists of two lists, A = w1,, ..., wk and B = x1, ...
, xk, of strings over some alphabet ∑. This instance of PCP has a solution if there is any sequence of
integers i1, i2, .. ., im, with m ≥1, such that ,wi1, wi2,…, wim = xi1, xi2,… xim
.
The sequence i1,…,im is a solution to this instance of PCP.

Example 1:
Let ∑ = {0, 1}. Let A and B be lists of three strings each, as defined

In this case PCP has a solution. Let m = 4, i1 = 2,i2 =1, i3 = 1, and i4 = 3. Then W2W1W1W3 =
X2X1X1X3 = 101111110.

Example 2: Show that PCP problem with 2 lists

X=(b,bab3,ba) and y=(b3,ba,a) has a solution.

Given lists are x=(b,bab3,ba) y=(b3,ba,a)

The instances of PCP is as follows

List X List Y

i Xi Yi

1 a b3

2 bab3 ba

3 ba a

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In this case PCP is as follows

X2x1x1x3=y2y1y1y3=bab3bbba
The solution sequence is 2113 PCP has a solution.
Example 3: Prove that PCP with two lists X =(01,1,1) Y=(0101,10,11) has no solution.

sol) Instance of PCP is given as

List X List Y

i Xi Yi

1 01 0101

2 1 10

3 1 11

Where X1=01 Y1=0101

X2=1 Y2=10

X3=1 Y3=11

For any i |Xi| < |Yi|The last Y is having strings of greater lengths. So to get same string for same
sequences of x1,x2,x3 and y1,y2,y3 is difficult.

We cannot get solution sequence. Therefore the given PCP is having no solution.

Turing Reducibility:
Language Ll is reduced to L2 by finding an algorithm that mapped strings in L1 to strings in L2 and
strings not in L1 to strings not in L2. This notion of reducibility is often called many-one reducibility.
A more general technique is called Turing reducibility, and consists simply of showing that L1 is
recursive in L2.
If L1 is many-one reducible to L2, then surely L1 is Turing-reducible to L2.

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P and NP problems:
The languages recognizable in deterministic polynomial time form a natural and important class, the class
Ui≥1 DTIME(ni), which we denote by P. It is an intuitively appealing notion that P is the class of
problems that can be solved efficiently.
There are a number of important problems that do not appear to be in P but have efficient
nondeterministic algorithms. These problems fall into the class Ui≥1 NTIME(ni), which we denote by NP.

NP complete and NP hard problems:

Let l be a class of languages.
A language L is complete for l with respect to polynomial-time reductions if L is in l, and every language
in l is polynomial-time reducible to L.
L is NP-complete if L is complete for NP with respect to log-space reductions.
L is hard for l with respect to polynomial-time reductions if every language in l is polynomial-time
reducible to L, but L is not necessarily in l.
L is NP-hard if L is hard for NP with respect to log-space reductions.

NP
NP
P

NC

HALTING PROBLEM

The problem of determining whether a program halts on a given input is undecidable.This is to say that
no program can correctly code halts.There is no algorithm for deciding halting problem

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Halting problem is simply not solvable.

Let K0= Turing acceptable language.

A problem that can be solved by an algorithm is called solvable.

A problem that cannot be solved by an algorithm called unsolvable.
An algorithm that solves a problem is called a decision procedure.
The most famous of the unsolvable problems is the problems described by Ko.It is generally called
halting problem for turing machine to determine for arbitrary given turing machine M and input
w,whether M will eventually halt on input W.

Closure properties of recursive languages

 Union: If L1 and If L2 are two recursive languages, their union L1∪L2 will also be recursive
because if TM halts for L1 and halts for L2, it will also halt for L1∪L2.
 Concatenation: If L1 and If L2 are two recursive languages, their concatenation L1.L2 will also be
recursive.
 Kleene Closure: If L1 is recursive, its kleene closure L1* will also be recursive.
 Intersection and complement: If L1 and If L2 are two recursive languages, their intersection L1 ∩
L2 will also be recursive.

Closure properties of recursively enumerable languages

 Recursively enumerable languages are not closed under complementation

 If L is recursively enumerable language, its kleene closure L* will also be recursively enumerable
language.
 If L1 and If L2 are two recursively enumerable languages, their concatenation L1.L2 will also be
recursively enumerable languages.
 If L1 and If L2 are two recursively enumerable languages, their union L1 ∪ L2 will also be
recursively enumerable languages.
 If L1 and If L2 are two recursively enumerable languages, their union L1 ∩ L2 will also be
recursively enumerable languages.

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