Rational Reductions and Regular Languages of Constant Circuit Complexity

Abstract

We study the circuit complexity of regular languages in terms of unbounded fan-in Boolean circuit families. We characterize the regular languages of constant circuit complexity in terms of the one-variable fragment of first-order logic with regular predicates, in terms of the pseudovariety of stamps $\mathbf{QEJ}_\mathbf{1}$, suitable word congruences and regular expressions. We analogously characterize the neutral letter regular languages of constant circuit complexity. Our lower bound result implies that the class of regular languages of sublogarithmic circuit complexity coincides with the one of constant circuit complexity. In addition we show that deciding whether a regular language, given as a nondeterministic finite automaton, has constant circuit complexity is $\mathbf{PSPACE}$-complete. We introduce a strong notion of reduction, called rational truth-table reduction, that is tailored towards algebraically defined classes of languages. We show that, for a class of functions we call mild, rational truth-table reductions preserve both upper and lower bounds on circuit complexity. We show that the class of regular languages, whose circuit complexity is bounded by a mild function, is in fact a length-multiplying variety of languages. Slightly extending the class of regular languages of constant circuit complexity, we analogously characterize the class of regular languages that are in the pseudovariety $\mathbf{QEACom}$. For these we derive logarithmic circuit complexity upper bounds.