NSPACE

NSPACE

In computational complexity theory, the complexity class NSPACE(f(n)) is the set of decision problems that can be solved by a non-deterministic Turing machine using space O(f(n)), and unlimited time. It is the non-deterministic counterpart of DSPACE.

Several important complexity classes can be defined in terms of NSPACE. These include:

The last two results above follow from Savitch's theorem, which states that for any function f(n) ≥ log(n),

NSPACE(f(n)) ⊆ DSPACE(f2(n)).

The Immerman–Szelepcsényi theorem states that NSPACE(s(n)) is closed under complement for every function s(n) ≥ log n.

NSPACE can be related to DTIME as follows. For any space constructible function s(n),

\mbox{NSPACE}(s(n)) \subseteq \bigcup_{k \geq 1} \mbox{DTIME}(2^{k \cdot s(n)})

A futher generalization is ASPACE, defined with alternating Turing machines.

References

Complexity Zoo: NSPACE(f(n)).