1,461 research outputs found
Model Checking Spatial Logics for Closure Spaces
Spatial aspects of computation are becoming increasingly relevant in Computer
Science, especially in the field of collective adaptive systems and when
dealing with systems distributed in physical space. Traditional formal
verification techniques are well suited to analyse the temporal evolution of
programs; however, properties of space are typically not taken into account
explicitly. We present a topology-based approach to formal verification of
spatial properties depending upon physical space. We define an appropriate
logic, stemming from the tradition of topological interpretations of modal
logics, dating back to earlier logicians such as Tarski, where modalities
describe neighbourhood. We lift the topological definitions to the more general
setting of closure spaces, also encompassing discrete, graph-based structures.
We extend the framework with a spatial surrounded operator, a propagation
operator and with some collective operators. The latter are interpreted over
arbitrary sets of points instead of individual points in space. We define
efficient model checking procedures, both for the individual and the collective
spatial fragments of the logic and provide a proof-of-concept tool
Modal logic of planar polygons
We study the modal logic of the closure algebra , generated by the set
of all polygons in the Euclidean plane . We show that this logic
is finitely axiomatizable, is complete with respect to the class of frames we
call "crown" frames, is not first order definable, does not have the Craig
interpolation property, and its validity problem is PSPACE-complete
Topological Models of Columnar Vagueness
This paper intends to further the understanding of the formal properties of (higher-order) vagueness by connecting theories of (higher-order) vagueness with more recent work in topology. First, we provide a âtranslationâ of Bobzien's account of columnar higher-order vagueness into the logic of topological spaces. Since columnar vagueness is an essential ingredient of her solution to the Sorites paradox, a central problem of any theory of vagueness comes into contact with the modern mathematical theory of topology. Second, Rumfittâs recent topological reconstruction of Sainsburyâs theory of prototypically defined concepts is shown to lead to the same class of spaces that characterize Bobzienâs account of columnar vagueness, namely, weakly scattered spaces. Rumfitt calls these spaces polar spaces. They turn out to be closely related to GĂ€rdenforsâ conceptual spaces, which have come to play an ever more important role in cognitive science and related disciplines. Finally, Williamsonâs âlogic of clarityâ is explicated in terms of a generalized topology (âlocologyâ) that can be considered an alternative to standard topology. Arguably, locology has some conceptual advantages over topology with respect to the conceptualization of a boundary and a borderline. Moreover, in Williamsonâs logic of clarity, vague concepts with respect to a notion of a locologically inspired notion of a âslim boundaryâ are (stably) columnar. Thus, Williamsonâs logic of clarity also exhibits a certain affinity for columnar vagueness. In sum, a topological perspective is useful for a conceptual elucidation and unification of central aspects of a variety of contemporary accounts of vagueness
Modal Logics of Topological Relations
Logical formalisms for reasoning about relations between spatial regions play
a fundamental role in geographical information systems, spatial and constraint
databases, and spatial reasoning in AI. In analogy with Halpern and Shoham's
modal logic of time intervals based on the Allen relations, we introduce a
family of modal logics equipped with eight modal operators that are interpreted
by the Egenhofer-Franzosa (or RCC8) relations between regions in topological
spaces such as the real plane. We investigate the expressive power and
computational complexity of logics obtained in this way. It turns out that our
modal logics have the same expressive power as the two-variable fragment of
first-order logic, but are exponentially less succinct. The complexity ranges
from (undecidable and) recursively enumerable to highly undecidable, where the
recursively enumerable logics are obtained by considering substructures of
structures induced by topological spaces. As our undecidability results also
capture logics based on the real line, they improve upon undecidability results
for interval temporal logics by Halpern and Shoham. We also analyze modal
logics based on the five RCC5 relations, with similar results regarding the
expressive power, but weaker results regarding the complexity
On the Decidability of Connectedness Constraints in 2D and 3D Euclidean Spaces
We investigate (quantifier-free) spatial constraint languages with equality,
contact and connectedness predicates as well as Boolean operations on regions,
interpreted over low-dimensional Euclidean spaces. We show that the complexity
of reasoning varies dramatically depending on the dimension of the space and on
the type of regions considered. For example, the logic with the
interior-connectedness predicate (and without contact) is undecidable over
polygons or regular closed sets in the Euclidean plane, NP-complete over
regular closed sets in three-dimensional Euclidean space, and ExpTime-complete
over polyhedra in three-dimensional Euclidean space.Comment: Accepted for publication in the IJCAI 2011 proceeding
Topological Aspects of Epistemology and Metaphysics
The aim of this paper is to show that (elementary) topology may be useful for dealing with problems of epistemology and metaphysics. More precisely, I want to show that the introduction of topological structures may elucidate the role of the spatial structures (in a broad sense) that underly logic and cognition. In some detail Iâll deal with âCassirerâs problemâ that may be characterized as an early forrunner of Goodmanâs âgrue-bleenâ problem. On a larger scale, topology turns out to be useful in elaborating the approach of conceptual spaces that in the last twenty years or so has found quite a few applications in cognitive science, psychology, and linguistics. In particular, topology may help distinguish ânaturalâ from ânot-so-naturalâ concepts. This classical problem that up to now has withstood all efforts to solve (or dissolve) it by purely logical methods. Finally, in order to show that a topological perspective may also offer a fresh look on classical metaphysical problems, it is shown that Leibnizâs famous principle of the identity of indiscernibles is closely related to some well-known topological separation axioms. More precisely, the topological perspective gives rise in a natural way to some novel variations of Leibnizâs principle
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