18,974 research outputs found
A Focused Sequent Calculus Framework for Proof Search in Pure Type Systems
Basic proof-search tactics in logic and type theory can be seen as the
root-first applications of rules in an appropriate sequent calculus, preferably
without the redundancies generated by permutation of rules. This paper
addresses the issues of defining such sequent calculi for Pure Type Systems
(PTS, which were originally presented in natural deduction style) and then
organizing their rules for effective proof-search. We introduce the idea of
Pure Type Sequent Calculus with meta-variables (PTSCalpha), by enriching the
syntax of a permutation-free sequent calculus for propositional logic due to
Herbelin, which is strongly related to natural deduction and already well
adapted to proof-search. The operational semantics is adapted from Herbelin's
and is defined by a system of local rewrite rules as in cut-elimination, using
explicit substitutions. We prove confluence for this system. Restricting our
attention to PTSC, a type system for the ground terms of this system, we obtain
the Subject Reduction property and show that each PTSC is logically equivalent
to its corresponding PTS, and the former is strongly normalising iff the latter
is. We show how to make the logical rules of PTSC into a syntax-directed system
PS for proof-search, by incorporating the conversion rules as in
syntax-directed presentations of the PTS rules for type-checking. Finally, we
consider how to use the explicitly scoped meta-variables of PTSCalpha to
represent partial proof-terms, and use them to analyse interactive proof
construction. This sets up a framework PE in which we are able to study
proof-search strategies, type inhabitant enumeration and (higher-order)
unification
Labelled Lambda-calculi with Explicit Copy and Erase
We present two rewriting systems that define labelled explicit substitution
lambda-calculi. Our work is motivated by the close correspondence between
Levy's labelled lambda-calculus and paths in proof-nets, which played an
important role in the understanding of the Geometry of Interaction. The
structure of the labels in Levy's labelled lambda-calculus relates to the
multiplicative information of paths; the novelty of our work is that we design
labelled explicit substitution calculi that also keep track of exponential
information present in call-by-value and call-by-name translations of the
lambda-calculus into linear logic proof-nets
Linear Logic and Strong Normalization
Strong normalization for linear logic requires elaborated rewriting techniques. In this paper we give a new presentation of MELL proof nets, without any commutative cut-elimination rule. We show how this feature induces a compact and simple proof of strong normalization, via reducibility candidates. It is the first proof of strong normalization for MELL which does not rely on any form of confluence, and so it smoothly scales up to full linear logic. Moreover, it is an axiomatic proof, as more generally it holds for every set of rewriting rules satisfying three very natural requirements with respect to substitution, commutation with promotion, full composition, and Kesner\u27s IE property. The insight indeed comes from the theory of explicit substitutions, and from looking at the exponentials as a substitution device
Nominal Abstraction
Recursive relational specifications are commonly used to describe the
computational structure of formal systems. Recent research in proof theory has
identified two features that facilitate direct, logic-based reasoning about
such descriptions: the interpretation of atomic judgments through recursive
definitions and an encoding of binding constructs via generic judgments.
However, logics encompassing these two features do not currently allow for the
definition of relations that embody dynamic aspects related to binding, a
capability needed in many reasoning tasks. We propose a new relation between
terms called nominal abstraction as a means for overcoming this deficiency. We
incorporate nominal abstraction into a rich logic also including definitions,
generic quantification, induction, and co-induction that we then prove to be
consistent. We present examples to show that this logic can provide elegant
treatments of binding contexts that appear in many proofs, such as those
establishing properties of typing calculi and of arbitrarily cascading
substitutions that play a role in reducibility arguments.Comment: To appear in the Journal of Information and Computatio
Distilling Abstract Machines (Long Version)
It is well-known that many environment-based abstract machines can be seen as
strategies in lambda calculi with explicit substitutions (ES). Recently,
graphical syntaxes and linear logic led to the linear substitution calculus
(LSC), a new approach to ES that is halfway between big-step calculi and
traditional calculi with ES. This paper studies the relationship between the
LSC and environment-based abstract machines. While traditional calculi with ES
simulate abstract machines, the LSC rather distills them: some transitions are
simulated while others vanish, as they map to a notion of structural
congruence. The distillation process unveils that abstract machines in fact
implement weak linear head reduction, a notion of evaluation having a central
role in the theory of linear logic. We show that such a pattern applies
uniformly in call-by-name, call-by-value, and call-by-need, catching many
machines in the literature. We start by distilling the KAM, the CEK, and the
ZINC, and then provide simplified versions of the SECD, the lazy KAM, and
Sestoft's machine. Along the way we also introduce some new machines with
global environments. Moreover, we show that distillation preserves the time
complexity of the executions, i.e. the LSC is a complexity-preserving
abstraction of abstract machines.Comment: 63 page
Automated Termination Analysis for Logic Programs with Cut
Termination is an important and well-studied property for logic programs.
However, almost all approaches for automated termination analysis focus on
definite logic programs, whereas real-world Prolog programs typically use the
cut operator. We introduce a novel pre-processing method which automatically
transforms Prolog programs into logic programs without cuts, where termination
of the cut-free program implies termination of the original program. Hence
after this pre-processing, any technique for proving termination of definite
logic programs can be applied. We implemented this pre-processing in our
termination prover AProVE and evaluated it successfully with extensive
experiments
Calculation of Graviton Scattering Amplitudes using String-Based Methods
Techniques based upon the string organisation of amplitudes may be used to
simplify field theory calculations. We apply these techniques to perturbative
gravity and calculate all one-loop amplitudes for four-graviton scattering with
arbitrary internal particle content. Decomposing the amplitudes into
contributions arising from supersymmetric multiplets greatly simplifies these
calculations. We also discuss how unitarity may be used to constrain the
amplitudes.Comment: 25 pages +5 figs. , SWAT-94-37 UCLA/TEP/94/30, Plain TeX. (Typos in
eqns. fixed
A Theory of Explicit Substitutions with Safe and Full Composition
Many different systems with explicit substitutions have been proposed to
implement a large class of higher-order languages. Motivations and challenges
that guided the development of such calculi in functional frameworks are
surveyed in the first part of this paper. Then, very simple technology in named
variable-style notation is used to establish a theory of explicit substitutions
for the lambda-calculus which enjoys a whole set of useful properties such as
full composition, simulation of one-step beta-reduction, preservation of
beta-strong normalisation, strong normalisation of typed terms and confluence
on metaterms. Normalisation of related calculi is also discussed.Comment: 29 pages Special Issue: Selected Papers of the Conference
"International Colloquium on Automata, Languages and Programming 2008" edited
by Giuseppe Castagna and Igor Walukiewic
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