Stone Duality and the Substitution Principle

Abstract

In this paper we relate two generalisations of the finite monoid recognisers of automata theory for the study of circuit complexity classes: Boolean spaces with internal monoids and typed monoids. Using the setting of stamps, this allows us to generalise a number of results from algebraic automata theory as it relates to Buchi's logic on words. We obtain an Eilenberg theorem, a substitution principle based on Stone duality, a block product principle for typed stamps and, as our main result, a topological semidirect product construction, which corresponds to the application of a general form of quantification. These results provide tools for the study of language classes given by logic fragments such as the Boolean circuit complexity classes.