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Are there studies connecting astronomy and combinatorics on words?

My background is in discrete mathematics, focusing on symbolic sequences and word patterns. I'm curious if these abstract structures have found any application in modeling astronomical data or theoretical astrophysics. It seems like a long shot, but I've heard murmurs about symbolic dynamics in chaotic systems or encoding for data transmission. Is there a real, if niche, bridge being built here?

 

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By Vineet Answered 1 month ago

This is a fascinating and emerging frontier. I have seen genuinely clever applications, though they are still specialized. The link isn't in modeling galaxies directly with words, but in analyzing patterns within data streams. For instance, researchers have used symbolic dynamics and word complexity measures to classify the irregular light curves of certain variable stars or to search for non-random, information-carrying structures in radio signals. It's also relevant in data compression and error-correcting codes for downlinking vast volumes of telescope data. I would recommend looking into the work of groups that blend dynamical systems theory with astrophysics; that's where this bridge is most actively being built.

 

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