The computability path ordering: the end of a quest

In this paper, we first briefly survey automated termination proof methods for higher-order calculi. We then concentrate on the higher-order recursive path ordering, for which we provide an improved definition, the Computability Path Ordering. This new definition appears indeed to capture the essence of computability arguments \`a la Tait and Girard, therefore explaining the name of the improved ordering.Comment: Dans CSL'08 (2008

The d=6 trace anomaly from quantum field theory four-loop graphs in one dimension

We calculate the integrated trace anomaly for a real spin-0 scalar field in six dimensions in a torsionless curved space without a boundary. We use a path integral approach for a corresponding supersymmetric quantum mechanical model. Weyl ordering the corresponding Hamiltonian in phase space, an extra two-loop counterterm ${1/8}\bigg(R + g^{ij} \Gamma^{l}_{k i} \Gamma^{k}_{l j} \bigg)$ is produced in the action. Applying a recursive method we evaluate the components of the metric tensor in Riemann normal coordinates in six dimensions and construct the interaction Langrangian density by employing the background field method. The calculation of the anomaly is based on the end-point scalar propagator and not on the string inspired center-of-mass propagator which gives incorrect results for the local trace anomaly. The manipulation of the Feynman diagrams is partly relied on the factorization of four dimensional subdiagrams and partly on a brute force computer algebra program developed to serve this specific purpose. The computer program enables one to perform index contractions of twelve quantum fields (10395 in the present case) a task which cannot be accomplished otherwise. We observe that the contribution of the disconnected diagrams is no longer proportional to the two dimensional trace anomaly (which vanishes in four dimensions). The integrated trace anomaly is finally expressed in terms of the 17 linearly independent scalar monomials constructed out of covariant derivatives and Riemann tensors.Comment: 23 pages, 17 figure

Real estate investment dynamics

This thesis is motivated by the steadily increasing interest in the dynamic relationship between the macro-economy and the real estate sector. One of the main issues in this respect is to study the investment dynamics. Since the bursting of the U.S. housing bubble in 2006 is identified as the point of origin of the so called subprime crises, which led to the collapse of the U.S. financial system, the dynamics of real estate investments is of particular interest. In the first part of my thesis I investigate the dynamics of residential investment and its relationship to the overall economy by the means of a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model in which a consumption good sector and a housing sector are incorporated. Residential investment is characterized in this model by a time-to-build restriction. The model is brought to U.S. quarterly data - in the period 1970 - 2007 - in order to evaluate whether it can account for stylized facts of the U.S. housing economy as well as the U.S. Macro - economy. Another much talked real estate topic with respect to the subprime crisis is the relationship between bank lending, property prices and economic activity. To that end, the second part of my thesis examines the potential effects of macro-policy and bank lending shocks on the German real estate sector. In particular, the importance of macroeconomic factors like credit to real estate construction, residential investment, and gross domestic product for the dynamics of German commercial real estate prices are analyzed by the means of a structural Vector-Autoregression (SVAR). The SVAR estimation is conduct for both, aggregate Germany and the largest regional states of Bavaria and Nordrhein-Westfalen for the period 1975 to 2004

The Safe Lambda Calculus

Safety is a syntactic condition of higher-order grammars that constrains occurrences of variables in the production rules according to their type-theoretic order. In this paper, we introduce the safe lambda calculus, which is obtained by transposing (and generalizing) the safety condition to the setting of the simply-typed lambda calculus. In contrast to the original definition of safety, our calculus does not constrain types (to be homogeneous). We show that in the safe lambda calculus, there is no need to rename bound variables when performing substitution, as variable capture is guaranteed not to happen. We also propose an adequate notion of beta-reduction that preserves safety. In the same vein as Schwichtenberg's 1976 characterization of the simply-typed lambda calculus, we show that the numeric functions representable in the safe lambda calculus are exactly the multivariate polynomials; thus conditional is not definable. We also give a characterization of representable word functions. We then study the complexity of deciding beta-eta equality of two safe simply-typed terms and show that this problem is PSPACE-hard. Finally we give a game-semantic analysis of safety: We show that safe terms are denoted by `P-incrementally justified strategies'. Consequently pointers in the game semantics of safe lambda-terms are only necessary from order 4 onwards

Church-Rosser Properties of Normal Rewriting

We prove a general purpose abstract Church-Rosser result that captures most existing such results that rely on termination of computations. This is achieved by studying abstract normal rewriting in a way that allows to incorporate positions at the abstract level. New concrete Church-Rosser results are obtained, in particular for higher-order rewriting at higher types

Normal Higher-Order Termination

International audienceWe extend the termination proof methods based on reduction orderings to higher-order rewriting systems based on higher-order pattern matching. We accommodate, on the one hand, a weakly polymorphic, algebraic extension of Church's simply typed λ-calculus, and on the other hand, any use of eta, as a reduction, as an expansion or as an equation. The user's rules may be of any type in this type system, either a base, functional, or weakly polymorphic type

Shoggoth: A Formal Foundation for Strategic Rewriting

Rewriting is a versatile and powerful technique used in many domains. Strategic rewriting allows programmers to control the application of rewrite rules by composing individual rewrite rules into complex rewrite strategies. These strategies are semantically complex, as they may be nondeterministic, they may raise errors that trigger backtracking, and they may not terminate.Given such semantic complexity, it is necessary to establish a formal understanding of rewrite strategies and to enable reasoning about them in order to answer questions like: How do we know that a rewrite strategy terminates? How do we know that a rewrite strategy does not fail because we compose two incompatible rewrites? How do we know that a desired property holds after applying a rewrite strategy?In this paper, we introduce Shoggoth: a formal foundation for understanding, analysing and reasoning about strategic rewriting that is capable of answering these questions. We provide a denotational semantics of System S, a core language for strategic rewriting, and prove its equivalence to our big-step operational semantics, which extends existing work by explicitly accounting for divergence. We further define a location-based weakest precondition calculus to enable formal reasoning about rewriting strategies, and we prove this calculus sound with respect to the denotational semantics. We show how this calculus can be used in practice to reason about properties of rewriting strategies, including termination, that they are well-composed, and that desired postconditions hold. The semantics and calculus are formalised in Isabelle/HOL and all proofs are mechanised