No label defined (Q4375276)

Let \(X=\{x_1,\dots,x_s\}\) be a finite alphabet and denote by \(X^*\) the set of finite words over \(X\). For \(\underline w=(w_1,\dots,w_k)\in(X^*)^k\) define \[ f_i(\underline w)=\begin{cases} w_k &\text{ if }i=1 \\ w_1\dots w_{i-1}w_k &\text{ if }2\leq i\leq k\end{cases} \] and \[ P_{n,i}(\underline w)=\begin{cases} w_i &\text{ if }n=1 \\ f_i(P_{n-1,1}(\underline w),\dots,P_{n-1,k}(\underline w)) & \text{ if }n>1.\end{cases} \] Let \(X_1=\{w_1,\dots,w_k\}\) and for \(v\in X_1^*\) let \(L_i(v)\), \(1\leq i\leq k\) denote the number of occurrences of \(w_i\) in \(v\) (as a word over \(X_1\)). Finally let \(L(v)=\sum_{i=1}^kL_i(v)\). The main result of the present paper is Theorem 2, by which \[ \lim_{n\to\infty}{L_{k-j}(P_{n,i}(\underline w))\over L(P_{n,i}(\underline w))}=\begin{cases}\beta_1^{-1} &\text{ if }j=0 \\ \beta_1^{-2}(1+\beta_1^{-1})^{j-1} &\text{if } 1\leq j \leq k-1,\end{cases} \] where \(\beta_1\) denotes the largest positive real zero of the polynomial \(x^k-(x+1)^{k-1}\). \{Reviewer's remark: One must add to the assumptions of Theorem 2 that the words \(w_1,\dots,w_k\) are distinct. Otherwise the assertion is false. For example let \(w_{k-h}=w_{k-j}\) with \(h\neq j\). Then \(L_{k-j}(P_{n,i}(\underline w))=L_{k-h}(P_{n,i}(\underline w))\), while the above equation gives different values for the limits\}.