A Characterization Theorem for a Modal Description Logic

Modal description logics feature modalities that capture dependence of knowledge on parameters such as time, place, or the information state of agents. E.g., the logic S5-ALC combines the standard description logic ALC with an S5-modality that can be understood as an epistemic operator or as representing (undirected) change. This logic embeds into a corresponding modal first-order logic S5-FOL. We prove a modal characterization theorem for this embedding, in analogy to results by van Benthem and Rosen relating ALC to standard first-order logic: We show that S5-ALC with only local roles is, both over finite and over unrestricted models, precisely the bisimulation invariant fragment of S5-FOL, thus giving an exact description of the expressive power of S5-ALC with only local roles

The Contextual Character of Modal Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics

In this article we discuss the contextual character of quantum mechanics in the framework of modal interpretations. We investigate its historical origin and relate contemporary modal interpretations to those proposed by M. Born and W. Heisenberg. We present then a general characterization of what we consider to be a modal interpretation. Following previous papers in which we have introduced modalities in the Kochen-Specker theorem, we investigate the consequences of these theorems in relation to the modal interpretations of quantum mechanics.Comment: 21 pages, no figures, preprint submitted to SHPM

Coherence in Modal Logic

A variety is said to be coherent if the finitely generated subalgebras of its finitely presented members are also finitely presented. In a recent paper by the authors it was shown that coherence forms a key ingredient of the uniform deductive interpolation property for equational consequence in a variety, and a general criterion was given for the failure of coherence (and hence uniform deductive interpolation) in varieties of algebras with a term-definable semilattice reduct. In this paper, a more general criterion is obtained and used to prove the failure of coherence and uniform deductive interpolation for a broad family of modal logics, including K, KT, K4, and S4

Global Numerical Constraints on Trees

We introduce a logical foundation to reason on tree structures with constraints on the number of node occurrences. Related formalisms are limited to express occurrence constraints on particular tree regions, as for instance the children of a given node. By contrast, the logic introduced in the present work can concisely express numerical bounds on any region, descendants or ancestors for instance. We prove that the logic is decidable in single exponential time even if the numerical constraints are in binary form. We also illustrate the usage of the logic in the description of numerical constraints on multi-directional path queries on XML documents. Furthermore, numerical restrictions on regular languages (XML schemas) can also be concisely described by the logic. This implies a characterization of decidable counting extensions of XPath queries and XML schemas. Moreover, as the logic is closed under negation, it can thus be used as an optimal reasoning framework for testing emptiness, containment and equivalence

Congruence from the Operator's Point of View: Compositionality Requirements on Process Semantics

One of the basic sanity properties of a behavioural semantics is that it constitutes a congruence with respect to standard process operators. This issue has been traditionally addressed by the development of rule formats for transition system specifications that define process algebras. In this paper we suggest a novel, orthogonal approach. Namely, we focus on a number of process operators, and for each of them attempt to find the widest possible class of congruences. To this end, we impose restrictions on sublanguages of Hennessy-Milner logic, so that a semantics whose modal characterization satisfies a given criterion is guaranteed to be a congruence with respect to the operator in question. We investigate action prefix, alternative composition, two restriction operators, and parallel composition.Comment: In Proceedings SOS 2010, arXiv:1008.190