Constructive reducibility conjecture for nonminimal trellises

A trellis represents a code, and a trellis is nonminimal when it is not minimal for that code. A reduction procedure consists of the reduction steps from the proof of Theorem~; state trimmings may be applied to the trellis or its dual. Constructive reducibility conjecture. Any nonminimal trellis can be reduced constructively using a finite number of steps as in the reduction procedure from the proof of Theorem~ along with suitable state trimmings applied to the trellis or its dual. This would provide a general constructive characterization of reducibility for nonminimal trellises, extending the reductions established in the preceding examples; the conjecture is presented as supported by many examples, but its resolution is not given here.