We consider the word search problem in the Baumslag-Gersten group GB. We show that the parameterized complexity of this problem, where the area of van Kampen diagram serves as a parameter, is polynomial in the length of the input and the parameter. This contrasts the well-known result that the Dehn function and the time complexity of the word search problem in GB are non-elementary.

Abstract Let R be a commutative integral unital domain and L a free noncommutative Lie algebra over R. In this article we show that the ring R and its action on L are 0-interpretable in L, viewed as a ring with the standard ring language $+ , \cdot ,0$ . Furthermore, if R has characteristic zero then we prove that the elementary theory $Th\left( L \right)$ of L in the standard ring language is undecidable. To do so we show that the arithmetic ${\Bbb N} = \langle {\Bbb N}, + , \cdot ,0\rangle $ is 0-interpretable in L. This implies that the theory of $Th\left( L \right)$ has the independence property. These results answer some old questions on model theory of free Lie algebras.

Recently, Macdonald et. al. showed that many algorithmic problems for finitely generated nilpotent groups including computation of normal forms, the subgroup membership problem, the conjugacy problem, and computation of subgroup presentations can be done in LOGSPACE. Here we follow their approach and show that all these problems are complete for the uniform circuit class TC^0 - uniformly for all r-generated nilpotent groups of class at most c for fixed r and c. Moreover, if we allow a certain binary representation of the inputs, then the word problem and computation of normal forms is still in uniform TC^0, while all the other problems we examine are shown to be TC^0-Turing reducible to the problem of computing greatest common divisors and expressing them as linear combinations.

Abstract In this paper we study the algebraic structure ofω-stable bilinear maps, arbitrary rings, and nilpotent groups. We will also provide rather complete structure theorems for the above structures in the finite Morley rank case.

In various occasions the conjugacy problem in finitely generated amalgamated products and HNN extensions can be decided efficiently for elements which cannot be conjugated into the base groups. This observation asks for a bound on how many such elements there are. Such bounds can be derived using the theory of amenable graphs:

This paper investigates the complexity of verbal languages and pattern languages of Thurston automatic groups in terms of the Chomsky hierarchy. Here the language generated by a pattern is taken as the set of representatives of all strings obtained when chosing values for the various variables. For noncommutative free groups, it is shown that the complexity of the verbal and pattern languages (in terms of level on the Chomsky hierarchy) does not depend on the Thurston automatic representation and that verbal languages cannot be context-free (unless they are either the empty word or the full group). They can however be indexed languages. Furthermore, it is shown that in the general case, it might depend on the exactly chosen Thurston automatic representation which level a verbal language takes in the Chomsky hierarchy. There are examples of groups where, in an appropriate representation, all pattern languages are regular or context-free, respectively.

Abstract In this paper we study generic complexity of undecidable problems. It turns out that some classical undecidable problems are, in fact, strongly undecidable, i.e., they are undecidable on every strongly generic subset of inputs. For instance, the classical Halting Problem is strongly undecidable. Moreover, we prove an analog of the Rice theorem for strongly undecidable problems, which provides plenty of examples of strongly undecidable problems. Then we show that there are natural super-undecidable problems, i.e., problem which are undecidable on every generic (not only strongly generic) subset of inputs. In particular, there are finitely presented semigroups with super-undecidable word problem. To construct strongly- and super-undecidable problems we introduce a method of generic amplification (an analog of the amplification in complexity theory). Finally, we construct absolutely undecidable problems, which stay undecidable on every non-negligible set of inputs. Their construction rests on generic immune sets.