1,025 research outputs found
Cut Elimination for a Logic with Induction and Co-induction
Proof search has been used to specify a wide range of computation systems. In
order to build a framework for reasoning about such specifications, we make use
of a sequent calculus involving induction and co-induction. These proof
principles are based on a proof theoretic (rather than set-theoretic) notion of
definition. Definitions are akin to logic programs, where the left and right
rules for defined atoms allow one to view theories as "closed" or defining
fixed points. The use of definitions and free equality makes it possible to
reason intentionally about syntax. We add in a consistent way rules for pre and
post fixed points, thus allowing the user to reason inductively and
co-inductively about properties of computational system making full use of
higher-order abstract syntax. Consistency is guaranteed via cut-elimination,
where we give the first, to our knowledge, cut-elimination procedure in the
presence of general inductive and co-inductive definitions.Comment: 42 pages, submitted to the Journal of Applied Logi
Confluence via strong normalisation in an algebraic \lambda-calculus with rewriting
The linear-algebraic lambda-calculus and the algebraic lambda-calculus are
untyped lambda-calculi extended with arbitrary linear combinations of terms.
The former presents the axioms of linear algebra in the form of a rewrite
system, while the latter uses equalities. When given by rewrites, algebraic
lambda-calculi are not confluent unless further restrictions are added. We
provide a type system for the linear-algebraic lambda-calculus enforcing strong
normalisation, which gives back confluence. The type system allows an abstract
interpretation in System F.Comment: In Proceedings LSFA 2011, arXiv:1203.542
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
Survey on counting special types of polynomials
Most integers are composite and most univariate polynomials over a finite
field are reducible. The Prime Number Theorem and a classical result of
Gau{\ss} count the remaining ones, approximately and exactly.
For polynomials in two or more variables, the situation changes dramatically.
Most multivariate polynomials are irreducible. This survey presents counting
results for some special classes of multivariate polynomials over a finite
field, namely the the reducible ones, the s-powerful ones (divisible by the
s-th power of a nonconstant polynomial), the relatively irreducible ones
(irreducible but reducible over an extension field), the decomposable ones, and
also for reducible space curves. These come as exact formulas and as
approximations with relative errors that essentially decrease exponentially in
the input size.
Furthermore, a univariate polynomial f is decomposable if f = g o h for some
nonlinear polynomials g and h. It is intuitively clear that the decomposable
polynomials form a small minority among all polynomials. The tame case, where
the characteristic p of Fq does not divide n = deg f, is fairly
well-understood, and we obtain closely matching upper and lower bounds on the
number of decomposable polynomials. In the wild case, where p does divide n,
the bounds are less satisfactory, in particular when p is the smallest prime
divisor of n and divides n exactly twice. The crux of the matter is to count
the number of collisions, where essentially different (g, h) yield the same f.
We present a classification of all collisions at degree n = p^2 which yields an
exact count of those decomposable polynomials.Comment: to appear in Jaime Gutierrez, Josef Schicho & Martin Weimann
(editors), Computer Algebra and Polynomials, Lecture Notes in Computer
Scienc
Higher-Order Termination: from Kruskal to Computability
Termination is a major question in both logic and computer science. In logic,
termination is at the heart of proof theory where it is usually called strong
normalization (of cut elimination). In computer science, termination has always
been an important issue for showing programs correct. In the early days of
logic, strong normalization was usually shown by assigning ordinals to
expressions in such a way that eliminating a cut would yield an expression with
a smaller ordinal. In the early days of verification, computer scientists used
similar ideas, interpreting the arguments of a program call by a natural
number, such as their size. Showing the size of the arguments to decrease for
each recursive call gives a termination proof of the program, which is however
rather weak since it can only yield quite small ordinals. In the sixties, Tait
invented a new method for showing cut elimination of natural deduction, based
on a predicate over the set of terms, such that the membership of an expression
to the predicate implied the strong normalization property for that expression.
The predicate being defined by induction on types, or even as a fixpoint, this
method could yield much larger ordinals. Later generalized by Girard under the
name of reducibility or computability candidates, it showed very effective in
proving the strong normalization property of typed lambda-calculi..
- …