Descriptional Complexity of Formal Systems

Abstract

Abstract. Watson-Crick automata are finite state automata working on double-stranded tapes, introduced to investigate the potential of DNA molecules for computing. In this paper, we continue the investigation of descriptional complexity of Watson-Crick automata initiated in [9]. In particular, we show that any finite language as well as any unary regular language can be recognized by a Watson-Crick automaton with only two and respectively three states. Also, we formally define the notion of determinism for these systems. Contrary to the case of non-deterministic Watson-Crick automata, we show that for deterministic ones, the complementarity relation plays a major role in the acceptance power of these systems.