Paper 1, Section II, H

Automata and Formal Languages
Part II, 2019

Let D=(Q,Σ,δ,q0,F)D=\left(Q, \Sigma, \delta, q_{0}, F\right) be a deterministic finite-state automaton (DFA). Define what it means for two states of DD to be equivalent. Define the minimal DFA D/D / \sim for DD.

Let DD be a DFA with no inaccessible states, and suppose that AA is another DFA on the same alphabet as DD and for which L(D)=L(A)\mathcal{L}(D)=\mathcal{L}(A). Show that AA has at least as many states as D/D / \sim. [You may use results from the course as long as you state them clearly.]

Construct a minimal DFA (that is, one with the smallest possible number of states) over the alphabet {0,1}\{0,1\} which accepts precisely the set of binary numbers which are multiples of 7. You may have leading zeros in your inputs (e.g.: 00101). Prove that your DFA is minimal by finding a distinguishing word for each pair of states.