Context trees, variable length Markov chains and dynamical sources.
Résumé
Infinite random sequences of letters can be viewed as stochastic chains or as strings produced by a source, in the sense of information theory. The relationship between Variable Length Markov Chains (VLMC) and probabilistic dynamical sources is studied. We establish a probabilistic frame for context trees and VLMC and we prove that any VLMC is a dynamical source for which we explicitly build the mapping. On two examples, the "comb" and the "bamboo blossom", we find a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence and the uniqueness of a stationary probability measure for the VLMC. These two examples are detailed in order to provide the associated Dirichlet series as well as the generating functions of word occurrences.