Parameterized String Equations

We study systems of String Equations where block variables need to be assigned strings so that their concatenation gives a specified target string. We investigate this problem under a multivariate complexity framework, searching for tractable special cases such as systems of equations with few block variables or few equations. Our main results include a polynomial-time algorithm for size-2 equations, and hardness for size-3 equations, as well as hardness for systems of two equations, even with tight constraints on the block variables. We also study a variant where few deletions are allowed in the target string, and give XP algorithms in this setting when the number of block variables is constant.