393 research outputs found
Termination orders for 3-dimensional rewriting
This paper studies 3-polygraphs as a framework for rewriting on
two-dimensional words. A translation of term rewriting systems into
3-polygraphs with explicit resource management is given, and the respective
computational properties of each system are studied. Finally, a convergent
3-polygraph for the (commutative) theory of Z/2Z-vector spaces is given. In
order to prove these results, it is explained how to craft a class of
termination orders for 3-polygraphs.Comment: 30 pages, 35 figure
Homological Computations for Term Rewriting Systems
An important problem in universal algebra consists in finding
presentations of algebraic theories by generators and relations, which
are as small as possible. Exhibiting lower bounds on the number of
those generators and relations for a given theory is a difficult task
because it a priori requires considering all possible sets of
generators for a theory and no general method exists. In this article,
we explain how homological computations can provide such lower bounds,
in a systematic way, and show how to actually compute those in the
case where a presentation of the theory by a convergent rewriting
system is known. We also introduce the notion of coherent presentation
of a theory in order to consider finer homotopical invariants. In some
aspects, this work generalizes, to term rewriting systems, Squier\u27s
celebrated homological and homotopical invariants for string rewriting
systems
Towards 3-Dimensional Rewriting Theory
String rewriting systems have proved very useful to study monoids. In good
cases, they give finite presentations of monoids, allowing computations on
those and their manipulation by a computer. Even better, when the presentation
is confluent and terminating, they provide one with a notion of canonical
representative of the elements of the presented monoid. Polygraphs are a
higher-dimensional generalization of this notion of presentation, from the
setting of monoids to the much more general setting of n-categories. One of the
main purposes of this article is to give a progressive introduction to the
notion of higher-dimensional rewriting system provided by polygraphs, and
describe its links with classical rewriting theory, string and term rewriting
systems in particular. After introducing the general setting, we will be
interested in proving local confluence for polygraphs presenting 2-categories
and introduce a framework in which a finite 3-dimensional rewriting system
admits a finite number of critical pairs
Higher-dimensional categories with finite derivation type
We study convergent (terminating and confluent) presentations of
n-categories. Using the notion of polygraph (or computad), we introduce the
homotopical property of finite derivation type for n-categories, generalizing
the one introduced by Squier for word rewriting systems. We characterize this
property by using the notion of critical branching. In particular, we define
sufficient conditions for an n-category to have finite derivation type. Through
examples, we present several techniques based on derivations of 2-categories to
study convergent presentations by 3-polygraphs
Polygraphs for termination of left-linear term rewriting systems
We present a methodology for proving termination of left-linear term
rewriting systems (TRSs) by using Albert Burroni's polygraphs, a kind of
rewriting systems on algebraic circuits. We translate the considered TRS into a
polygraph of minimal size whose termination is proven with a polygraphic
interpretation, then we get back the property on the TRS. We recall Yves
Lafont's general translation of TRSs into polygraphs and known links between
their termination properties. We give several conditions on the original TRS,
including being a first-order functional program, that ensure that we can
reduce the size of the polygraphic translation. We also prove sufficient
conditions on the polygraphic interpretations of a minimal translation to imply
termination of the original TRS. Examples are given to compare this method with
usual polynomial interpretations.Comment: 15 page
Coherent Presentations of Monoidal Categories
Presentations of categories are a well-known algebraic tool to provide
descriptions of categories by means of generators, for objects and morphisms,
and relations on morphisms. We generalize here this notion, in order to
consider situations where the objects are considered modulo an equivalence
relation, which is described by equational generators. When those form a
convergent (abstract) rewriting system on objects, there are three very natural
constructions that can be used to define the category which is described by the
presentation: one consists in turning equational generators into identities
(i.e. considering a quotient category), one consists in formally adding
inverses to equational generators (i.e. localizing the category), and one
consists in restricting to objects which are normal forms. We show that, under
suitable coherence conditions on the presentation, the three constructions
coincide, thus generalizing celebrated results on presentations of groups, and
we extend those conditions to presentations of monoidal categories
Intensional properties of polygraphs
We present polygraphic programs, a subclass of Albert Burroni's polygraphs,
as a computational model, showing how these objects can be seen as first-order
functional programs. We prove that the model is Turing complete. We use
polygraphic interpretations, a termination proof method introduced by the
second author, to characterize polygraphic programs that compute in polynomial
time. We conclude with a characterization of polynomial time functions and
non-deterministic polynomial time functions.Comment: Proceedings of TERMGRAPH 2007, Electronic Notes in Computer Science
(to appear), 12 pages, minor changes from previous versio
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