On termination of one rule rewrite systems

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Abstract

The undecidability of the termination of rewrite systems is usually proved by reduction to the halting of Turing machines. In particular, Dauchet proves the undecidability of the termination of one rule rewrite systems by coding Turing machines into one rule rewrite systems. Rewrite systems are a very simple model of computation and one may expect proofs in this model to be more straightforward than those referring to the more complex model of Turing machines. In this paper we deduce the problem of termination of one rule rewrite systems to problems somewhat more related to rewrite systems namely to Post correspondence problems and to termination of semi-Thue systems. Proofs we obtain this way are shorter and we expect other interesting applications from these codings. In particular, the second part proposes a simulation of semi-Thue systems by one rule systems.

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