Fici–Saarela minimum distinct abelian-square conjecture

For a binary linear word of length nn, let MDL(n)MDL(n) be the minimum number of distinct abelian squares it contains. Fici–Saarela's conjecture.

MDL(n)=n/4,MDL(n)=\lfloor n/4\rfloor,

and the only words of length 4k+34k+3 containing exactly kk distinct abelian squares are a2k+1ba2k+1a^{2k+1}ba^{2k+1} and its complement. The conjecture gives both the sharp minimum and the stated equality cases for distinct abelian squares in binary words.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Jamie Simpson, “Solved and unsolved problems about abelian squares”, arXiv:1802.04481 (2018).

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