We show that any positive integer is the least period of a factor of the Thue-Morse word. We also characterize the set of least periods of factors of a sturmian word. In particular, the corresponding set for the Fibonacci word is the set of Fibonacci numbers. As a by-product of our results, we give several new proofs and tightenings of well-known properties of sturmian words.
@article{ITA_2009__43_1_165_0, author = {Currie, James D. and Saari, Kalle}, title = {Least periods of factors of infinite words}, journal = {RAIRO - Theoretical Informatics and Applications - Informatique Th\'eorique et Applications}, volume = {43}, year = {2009}, pages = {165-178}, doi = {10.1051/ita:2008006}, mrnumber = {2483449}, zbl = {1162.68510}, language = {en}, url = {http://dml.mathdoc.fr/item/ITA_2009__43_1_165_0} }
Currie, James D.; Saari, Kalle. Least periods of factors of infinite words. RAIRO - Theoretical Informatics and Applications - Informatique Théorique et Applications, Tome 43 (2009) pp. 165-178. doi : 10.1051/ita:2008006. http://gdmltest.u-ga.fr/item/ITA_2009__43_1_165_0/
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