Proving that a derived language is regular

Question

Suppose I have a DFA recognizing a regular language $L$, how do I prove that $$\text{lefthalf}(L)= \{ w_1 \mid \exists w_2 \in \Sigma^* ,w_1w_2 \in L \land \|w_1\| = \|w_2\| \}$$ is also a regular language?

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Sep 18 '13 at 06:38

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Hint: while reading $w_1$, guess $w_2$ and gather enough information so that in the end you can decide whether $w_1 w_2 \in L$.

answered Sep 18 '13 at 06:38

Yuval Filmus

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score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 18 '13 at 07:54

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Hint: while reading $w_1$, guess $w_2$ from the end, and see where you meet in the middle. Thus you can take as the set of states a subset of $Q^2$.

answered Sep 18 '13 at 07:54

Tpecatte

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Proving that a derived language is regular

2 Answers2