In mathematics and computer science, the Krohn Rhodes theory (or algebraic automat a theory) is an approach to the study

of finite semigroups and automata that see ks to decompose them in terms of elementary components. These components corresp ond to finite aperiodic semigroups and finite simple groups that are combined to gether in a feedback-free manner (called a "wreath product" or "cascade"). Krohn and Rhodes found a general decomposition for finite automata. In doing the ir research, though, the authors discovered and proved an unexpected major resul t in finite semigroup theory, revealing a deep connection between finite automat a and semigroups. Contents [hide] 1 Definitions and Description of the Krohn-Rhodes Theorem 2 Group complexity 3 History and applications 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links [edit]Definitions and Description of the Krohn-Rhodes Theorem A semigroup S that is a homomorphic image of a subsemigroup of T is said to be a divisor of T. The Krohn Rhodes theorem for finite semigroups states that every finite semigroup S is a divisor of a finite alternating wreath product of finite simple groups, e ach a divisor of S, and finite aperiodic semigroups (which contain no nontrivial subgroups). In the automata formulation, the Krohn-Rhodes theorem for finite automata states that given a finite automaton A with states Q and input set I, output alphabet U, then one can expand the states to Q' such that the new automaton A' embeds in to a cascade of "simple", irreducible automata: In particular, A is emulated by a feed-forward cascade of (1) automata whose transitions semigroups are finite s imple groups and (2) automata which are banks of flip-flops running in parallel. [nb 1] The new automaton A' has the same input and output symbols as A. Here, bo th the states and inputs of the cascaded automata have a very special hierarchic al coordinate form. Moreover, each simple group (prime) or non-group irreducible semigroup (subsemig roup of the flip-flop monoid) that divides the transformation semigroup of A mus t divide the transition semigroup of some component of the cascade, and only the primes that must occur as divisors of the components are those that divide A 's transition semigroup. [edit]Group complexity The Krohn Rhodes complexity (also called group complexity or just complexity) of a finite semigroup S is the least number of groups in a wreath product of finite groups and finite aperiodic semigroups of which S is a divisor. All finite aperiodic semigroups have complexity 0, while non-trivial finite grou ps have complexity 1. In fact, there are semigroups of every non-negative intege r complexity. For example, for any n greater than 1, the multiplicative semigrou p of all (n+1)(n+1) upper triangular matrices over any fixed finite field has com plexity n (Kambites, 2007). A major open problem in finite semigroup theory is the decidability of complexit y: given the multiplication table for a finite semigroup, is there an algorithm that will compute its Krohn Rhodes complexity? Upper bounds and ever more precise lower bounds on complexity have been obtained (see, e.g. Rhodes & Steinberg, 200 9). Rhodes has conjectured that the problem is decidable.[nb 2] [edit]History and applications At a conference in 1962, Kenneth Krohn and John Rhodes announced a method for de composing a (deterministic) finite automaton into "simple" components that are t hemselves finite automata. This joint work, which has implications for philosoph

y, comprised both Krohn's doctoral thesis at Harvard University, and Rhodes' doc toral thesis at MIT.[nb 3] Simpler proofs, and generalizations of the theorem to infinite structures, have been published since then (see Chapter 4 of Steinberg and Rhodes' 2009 book The q-Theory of Finite Semigroups for an overview). In the 1965 paper by Krohn and Rhodes, the proof of the theorem on the decomposi tion of finite automata (or, equivalently sequential machines) made extensive us e of the algebraic semigroup structure. Later proofs contained major simplificat ions using finite wreath products of finite transformation semigroups. The theor em generalizes the Jordan Hlder decomposition for finite groups (in which the prime s are the finite simple groups), to all finite transformation semigroups (for wh ich the primes are again the finite simple groups plus all subsemigroups of the "flip-flop" (see above) . Both the group and more general finite automata decomp osition require expanding the state-set of the general, but allow for the same n umber of input symbols. In the general case, these are embedded in a larger stru cture with a hierarchical "coordinate system". Some confusion occurs[citation needed] for automata theorists in that Krohn and Rhodes explicitly refer to their theorem as a "prime decomposition theorem" for automata. The components in the decomposition, however, were not prime automata (with prime defined in a nave way); rather, the notion of prime is more sophistic ated and algebraic: the semigroups and groups associated to the constituent auto mata of the decomposition are prime (or irreducible) in a strict and natural alg ebraic sense (Eilenberg, 1976). Also, unlike earlier decomposition theorems, the Krohn Rhodes decompositions usually require expansion of the state-set, so that t he expanded automaton covers (emulates) the one being decomposed. These facts ha ve made the theorem difficult to understand, and challenging to apply in a pract ical way until recently, when computational implementations became available (Egri -Nagy & Nehaniv 2005, 2008). H.P. Zeiger (1967) proved an important variant called the holonomy decomposition (Eilenberg 1976).[nb 4] The holonomy method appears to be relatively efficient and has been implemented computationally by A. Egri-Nagy (Egri-Nagy & Nehaniv 20 05). Meyer and Thompson (1969) give a version of Krohn Rhodes decomposition for finite automata that is equivalent to the decomposition previously developed by Hartman is and Stearns, but for useful decompositions, the notion of expanding the state -set of the original automaton is essential (for the non-permutation automata ca se). Many proofs and constructions now exist of Krohn Rhodes decompositions (e.g., [Kro hn, Rhodes & Tilson 1968], [sik 2000]), with the holonomy method the most popular and efficient in general (although not in all cases). Due to the close relation between monoids and categories, a version of the Krohn Rhodes theorem is applicab le to category theory. This observation and a proof of an analogous result were offered by Wells (1980).[nb 5] The Krohn Rhodes theorem for semigroups/monoids is an analogue of the Jordan Hlder th eorem for finite groups (for semigroups/monoids rather than groups). As such, th e theorem is a deep and important result in semigroup/monoid theory. The theorem was also surprising to many mathematicians and computer scientists[nb 6] since it had previously been widely believed that the semigroup/monoid axioms were too weak to admit a structure theorem of any strength, and prior work (Hartmanis & Stearns) was only able to show much more rigid and less general decomposition re sults for finite automata. Work by Egri-Nagy and Nehaniv (2005, 2008-) continues to further automate the ho lonomy version of the Krohn Rhodes decomposition extended with the related decompo sition for finite groups (so-called Frobenius Lagrange coordinates) using the comp uter algebra system GAP. Applications outside of the semigroup and monoid theories are now computationall y feasible. They include computations in biology and biochemical systems (e.g. E gri-Nagy & Nehaniv 2008), artificial intelligence, finite-state physics, psychol ogy, and game theory (see, for example, Rhodes 2009).