On Sturmian and episturmian words, and related topics

Abstract

Combinatorics on words plays a fundamental role in various fields of mathematics, not to mention its relevance in theoretical computer science and physics. Most renowned among its branches is the theory of infinite binary sequences called Sturmian words, which are fascinating in many respects, having been studied from combinatorial, algebraic, and geometric points of view. The most well-known example of a Sturmian word is the ubiquitous Fibonacci word, the importance of which lies in combinatorial pattern matching and the theory of words. Properties of the Fibonacci word and, more generally, Sturmian words have been extensively studied, not only because of their significance in discrete mathematics, but also due to their practical applications in computer imagery (digital straightness), theoretical physics (quasicrystal modelling) and molecular biology.