Analog and Symbolic Computation through the Koopman Framework
Abstract
We develop a Koopman operator framework for studying the {computational properties} of dynamical systems. Specifically, we show that the resolvent of the Koopman operator provides a natural abstraction of halting, yielding a ``Koopman halting problem that is recursively enumerable in general. For symbolic systems, such as those defined on Cantor space, this operator formulation captures the reachability between clopen sets, while for equicontinuous systems we prove that the Koopman halting problem is decidable. Our framework demonstrates that absorbing (halting) states {in finite automata} correspond to Koopman eigenfunctions with eigenvalue one, while cycles in the transition graph impose algebraic constraints on spectral properties. These results provide a unifying perspective on computation in symbolic and analog systems, showing how computational universality is reflected in operator spectra, invariant subspaces, and algebraic structures. Beyond symbolic dynamics, this operator-theoretic lens opens pathways to analyze {computational power of} a broader class of dynamical systems, including polynomial and analog models, and suggests that computational hardness may admit dynamical signatures in terms of Koopman spectral structure.