Simplicity and irreducibility in circular automata

Abstract

This paper investigates the conditions under which a given circular (synchronizing) DFA is \emph{simple} (sometimes referred to as \emph{primitive}) and when it is \emph{irreducible}. Our notion of irreducibility slightly differs from the classical one, since we are considering our monoid representations to be over $\mathbb{C}$ instead of $\mathbb{Q}$; nevertheless, several well-known results remain valid-for instance, the fact that every irreducible automaton is necessarily simple. We provide a complete characterization of simplicity in the circular case by means of the \emph{weak contracting property}. Furthermore, we establish necessary and sufficient conditions for a circular \emph{contracting automaton} (a stronger condition than the weakly contracting one) to be irreducible, and we present examples illustrating our results.