Wheeler Languages

Abstract: The recently introduced class of Wheeler graphs, inspired by the Burrows-Wheeler Transform (BWT) of a given string, admits an efficient index data structure for searching for subpaths with a given path label, and lifts the applicability of the Burrows-Wheeler transform from strings to languages. In this paper we study the regular languages accepted by automata having a Wheeler graph as transition function, and prove results on determination, Myhill_Nerode characterization, decidability, and closure properties for this class of languages.