Reducibility and solvability of some classes of Kryuchkov binary tree pairs (Q665769)

Summary: This paper addresses the problem of characterizing classes of pairs of binary trees of equal size for which a signed reassociation sequence, in the Eliahou-Kryuchkov sense, can be shown to exist, either with a size induction hypothesis (reducible pairs), or without it (solvable pairs). A few concepts proposed by Cooper, Rowland and Zeilberger, in the context of a language-theoretic approach to the problem, are here reformulated in terms of signed reassociation sequences, and some of their results are recasted and proven in this framework. A few strategies, tactics and combinations thereof for signed reassociation are introduced, which prove useful to extend the results obtained by the aforementioned authors to new classes of binary tree pairs. In particular, with reference to path trees, i.e., binary trees that have a leaf at every level, we show the reducibility of pairs where (at least) one of the two path trees has a triplication at the first turn below the top level, and we characterize a class of weakly mutually crooked path tree pairs that are neither reducible nor solvable by any previously known result, but prove solvable by appropriate reassociation strategies. This class also includes a subclass of mutually crooked path tree pairs. A summary evaluation of the achieved results, followed by an outline of open questions and future research directions conclude the paper.