For an extensive range of infinite words, and the associated symbolic dynamical systems, we compute, together with the usual language complexity function counting the finite words, the minimal and maximal complexity functions we get by replacing finite words by finite patterns, or words with holes.

We prove that some fairly basic questions on automata reading infinite words depend on the models of the axiomatic system ZFC. It is known that there are only three possibilities for the cardinality of the complement of an ω-language \hbox{$L(\mathcal{A})$}L(𝒜) accepted by a Büchi 1-counter automaton \hbox{$\mathcal{A}$}𝒜. We prove the following surprising result: there exists a 1-counter Büchi automaton \hbox{$\mathcal{A}$}𝒜 such that the cardinality of the complement \hbox{$L(\mathcal{A})^-$}L(𝒜) −  of the ω-language \hbox{$L(\mathcal{A})$}L(𝒜) is not determined by ZFC: (1) There is a model V1 of ZFC in which \hbox{$L(\mathcal{A})^-$}L(𝒜) −  is countable. (2) There is a model V2 of ZFC in which \hbox{$L(\mathcal{A})^-$}L(𝒜) −  has cardinal 2ℵ0. (3) There is a model V3 of ZFC in which \hbox{$L(\mathcal{A})^-$}L(𝒜) −  has cardinal ℵ1 with ℵ0 < ℵ1 < 2ℵ0.

We prove a very similar result for the complement of an infinitary rational relation accepted by a 2-tape Büchi automaton ℬ. As a corollary, this proves that the continuum hypothesis may be not satisfied for complements of 1-counter ω-languages and for complements of infinitary rational relations accepted by 2-tape Büchi automata. We infer from the proof of the above results that basic decision problems about 1-counter ω-languages or infinitary rational relations are actually located at the third level of the analytical hierarchy. In particular, the problem to determine whether the complement of a 1-counter ω-language (respectively, infinitary rational relation) is countable is in Σ13\(Π12 ∪ Σ12). This is rather surprising if compared to the fact that it is decidable whether an infinitary rational relation is countable (respectively, uncountable).

Richomme asked the following question: what is the infimum of the real numbers α > 2 such that there exists an infinite word that avoids α-powers but contains arbitrarily large squares beginning at every position? We resolve this question in the case of a binary alphabet by showing that the answer is α = 7/3.

The complexity of infinite words is considered from the point of view of a transformation with a Mealy machine that is the simplest model of a finite automaton transducer. We are mostly interested in algebraic properties of the underlying partially ordered set. Results considered with the existence of supremum, infimum, antichains, chains and density aspects are investigated.

We study some arithmetical and combinatorial properties of β-integers for β being the larger root of the equation x2 = mx - n,m,n ∈ ℵ, m ≥ n +2 ≥ 3. We determine with the accuracy of ± 1 the maximal number of β-fractional positions, which may arise as a result of addition of two β-integers. For the infinite word uβ> coding distances between the consecutive β-integers, we determine precisely also the balance. The word uβ> is the only fixed point of the morphism A → Am-1B and B → Am-n-1B. In the case n = 1, the corresponding infinite word uβ> is sturmian, and, therefore, 1-balanced. On the simplest non-sturmian example with n≥ 2, we illustrate how closely the balance and the arithmetical properties of β-integers are related.

Arithmetical complexity of a sequence is the number of words of length n that can be extracted from it according to arithmetic progressions. We study uniformly recurrent words of low arithmetical complexity and describe the family of such words having lowest complexity.

Among Sturmian words, some of them are morphic, i.e. fixed point of a non-identical morphism on words. Berstel and Séébold (1993) have shown that if a characteristic Sturmian word is morphic, then it can be extended by the left with one or two letters in such a way that it remains morphic and Sturmian. Yasutomi (1997) has proved that these were the sole possible additions and that, if we cut the first letters of such a word, it didn't remain morphic. In this paper, we give an elementary and combinatorial proof of this result.

We give necessary and sufficient conditions for a language to be the language of finite words that occur infinitely many times in an infinite word.

We construct new examples of non-nil algebras with any number of generators, which are direct sums of two locally nilpotent subalgebras. Like all previously known examples, our examples are contracted semigroup algebras and the underlying semigroups are unions of locally nilpotent subsemigroups. In our constructions we make more transparent than in the past the close relationship between the considered problem and combinatorics of words.

We give a bound for the ω-equivalence problem of polynomially bounded D0L systems which depends only on the size of the underlying alphabet.