3,836 research outputs found
Inductive Definition and Domain Theoretic Properties of Fully Abstract
A construction of fully abstract typed models for PCF and PCF^+ (i.e., PCF +
"parallel conditional function"), respectively, is presented. It is based on
general notions of sequential computational strategies and wittingly consistent
non-deterministic strategies introduced by the author in the seventies.
Although these notions of strategies are old, the definition of the fully
abstract models is new, in that it is given level-by-level in the finite type
hierarchy. To prove full abstraction and non-dcpo domain theoretic properties
of these models, a theory of computational strategies is developed. This is
also an alternative and, in a sense, an analogue to the later game strategy
semantics approaches of Abramsky, Jagadeesan, and Malacaria; Hyland and Ong;
and Nickau. In both cases of PCF and PCF^+ there are definable universal
(surjective) functionals from numerical functions to any given type,
respectively, which also makes each of these models unique up to isomorphism.
Although such models are non-omega-complete and therefore not continuous in the
traditional terminology, they are also proved to be sequentially complete (a
weakened form of omega-completeness), "naturally" continuous (with respect to
existing directed "pointwise", or "natural" lubs) and also "naturally"
omega-algebraic and "naturally" bounded complete -- appropriate generalisation
of the ordinary notions of domain theory to the case of non-dcpos.Comment: 50 page
An algorithmic approach to the existence of ideal objects in commutative algebra
The existence of ideal objects, such as maximal ideals in nonzero rings,
plays a crucial role in commutative algebra. These are typically justified
using Zorn's lemma, and thus pose a challenge from a computational point of
view. Giving a constructive meaning to ideal objects is a problem which dates
back to Hilbert's program, and today is still a central theme in the area of
dynamical algebra, which focuses on the elimination of ideal objects via
syntactic methods. In this paper, we take an alternative approach based on
Kreisel's no counterexample interpretation and sequential algorithms. We first
give a computational interpretation to an abstract maximality principle in the
countable setting via an intuitive, state based algorithm. We then carry out a
concrete case study, in which we give an algorithmic account of the result that
in any commutative ring, the intersection of all prime ideals is contained in
its nilradical
Time-dependent current density functional theory via time-dependent deformation functional theory: A constrained search formulation in the time domain
The logical structure and the basic theorems of time-dependent current
density functional theory (TDCDFT) are analyzed and reconsidered from the point
of view of recently proposed time-dependent deformation functional theory
(TDDefFT). It is shown that the formalism of TDDefFT allows to avoid a
traditional external potential-to-density/current mapping. Instead the theory
is formulated in a form similar to the constrained search procedure in the
ground state DFT. Within this formulation of TDCDFT all basic functionals
appear from the solution of a constrained universal many-body problem in a
comoving reference frame, which is equivalent to finding a conditional extremum
of a certain universal action functional. As a result the physical origin of
the universal functionals entering the theory, as well as their proper causal
structure becomes obvious. In particular, this leaves no room for any doubt
concerning predictive power of the theory.Comment: revtex4, 24 page
Exhaustible sets in higher-type computation
We say that a set is exhaustible if it admits algorithmic universal
quantification for continuous predicates in finite time, and searchable if
there is an algorithm that, given any continuous predicate, either selects an
element for which the predicate holds or else tells there is no example. The
Cantor space of infinite sequences of binary digits is known to be searchable.
Searchable sets are exhaustible, and we show that the converse also holds for
sets of hereditarily total elements in the hierarchy of continuous functionals;
moreover, a selection functional can be constructed uniformly from a
quantification functional. We prove that searchable sets are closed under
intersections with decidable sets, and under the formation of computable images
and of finite and countably infinite products. This is related to the fact,
established here, that exhaustible sets are topologically compact. We obtain a
complete description of exhaustible total sets by developing a computational
version of a topological Arzela--Ascoli type characterization of compact
subsets of function spaces. We also show that, in the non-empty case, they are
precisely the computable images of the Cantor space. The emphasis of this paper
is on the theory of exhaustible and searchable sets, but we also briefly sketch
applications
Strong normalisation for applied lambda calculi
We consider the untyped lambda calculus with constructors and recursively
defined constants. We construct a domain-theoretic model such that any term not
denoting bottom is strongly normalising provided all its `stratified
approximations' are. From this we derive a general normalisation theorem for
applied typed lambda-calculi: If all constants have a total value, then all
typeable terms are strongly normalising. We apply this result to extensions of
G\"odel's system T and system F extended by various forms of bar recursion for
which strong normalisation was hitherto unknown.Comment: 14 pages, paper acceptet at electronic journal LMC
Generalized probabilities in statistical theories
In this review article we present different formal frameworks for the
description of generalized probabilities in statistical theories. We discuss
the particular cases of probabilities appearing in classical and quantum
mechanics, possible generalizations of the approaches of A. N. Kolmogorov and
R. T. Cox to non-commutative models, and the approach to generalized
probabilities based on convex sets
Integrals and Valuations
We construct a homeomorphism between the compact regular locale of integrals
on a Riesz space and the locale of (valuations) on its spectrum. In fact, we
construct two geometric theories and show that they are biinterpretable. The
constructions are elementary and tightly connected to the Riesz space
structure.Comment: Submitted for publication 15/05/0
The Physical Principles of Quantum Mechanics. A critical review
The standard presentation of the principles of quantum mechanics is
critically reviewed both from the experimental/operational point and with
respect to the request of mathematical consistency and logical economy. A
simpler and more physically motivated formulation is discussed. The existence
of non commuting observables, which characterizes quantum mechanics with
respect to classical mechanics, is related to operationally testable
complementarity relations, rather than to uncertainty relations. The drawbacks
of Dirac argument for canonical quantization are avoided by a more geometrical
approach.Comment: Bibliography and section 2.1 slightly improve
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