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Let $\mathcal A$ be an arbitrary language over $\Sigma^*$

Proof.

To prove, $\mathcal A^{**} = \mathcal A^* $

$\mathcal A^{**} = \left( \mathcal A^0 \cup \mathcal A^1 \cup {...} \cup \mathcal A^n \right)^*$ by definition of Kleene Star

My idea is that Kleene star operation distributes over the union of languages but then, I dont know what to do next.

I need some directions.

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    $\begingroup$ It doesn't: $A^* \cup B^* \not= (A \cup B)^*$, in general. $\endgroup$ Oct 5, 2018 at 17:26

3 Answers 3

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Since $L \subseteq L^*$ for all $L$, we have $\mathcal{A}^* \subseteq \mathcal{A}^{**}$. In the other direction, suppose that $w \in \mathcal{A}^{**}$. Then there exists an integer $n \geq 0$ and words $x_1,\ldots,x_n \in \mathcal{A}^*$ such that $w = x_1 x_2 \ldots x_n$. Since $x_i \in \mathcal{A}^*$, there exists an integer $m_i$ such that $x_i \in \mathcal{A}^{m_i}$. Thus $w \in \mathcal{A}^{m_1 + \cdots + m_n} \subseteq \mathcal{A}^*$, and it follows that $\mathcal{A}^{**} \subseteq \mathcal{A}^*$.

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Yuval showed a simple way to prove this. Here's an (arguably more complex) alternative based on least fixed points.

The inclusion $L \subseteq L^*$ always holds, so $\mathcal A^* \subseteq \mathcal A^{**}$.

We are left with proving $\mathcal A^{**} \subseteq \mathcal A^{*}$. For this, recall that $L^*$ can be defined as the least language such that $$ \{\epsilon\} \cup LL^* = L^* $$ Hence, $\mathcal A^{**}$ is the least language such that $$ \{\epsilon\} \cup \mathcal A^* \mathcal A^{**} = \mathcal A^{**} $$ so, if we prove that $\mathcal A^*$ also satisfies the same property, i.e. if we prove $$ \{\epsilon\} \cup \mathcal A^* \mathcal A^{*} = \mathcal A^{*} \qquad (*) $$ by the minimality of $\mathcal A^{**}$, we will obtain the wanted $\mathcal A^{**} \subseteq \mathcal A^{*}$. Proving $(*)$ is then trivial.

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Depending on what you take as the definition of the Kleene Closure, the proof can be rather trivial. Here is a direct proof from the universal property:

The language $\mathcal{A}^\ast \subseteq \Sigma^\ast$ is the smallest submonoid of $\Sigma^\ast$ that contains $\mathcal{A}$. Likewise, the language $\mathcal{A}^{\ast\ast}$ is the smallest submonoid of $\Sigma^\ast$ that contains $\mathcal{A}^\ast$. Now:

  • By definition, $\mathcal{A}^{\ast\ast}$ contains $\mathcal{A}^\ast$, so $\mathcal{A}^\ast \subseteq \mathcal{A}^{\ast\ast}$.
  • On the other hand, $\mathcal{A}^\ast$ does contain $\mathcal{A}^\ast$ and is a monoid, therefore the smallest submonoid containing $\mathcal{A}^\ast$ cannot be larger than $\mathcal{A}^\ast$, hence $\mathcal{A}^{\ast\ast} \subseteq \mathcal{A}^\ast$.

Both inclusions together give equality.

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