Efficient Parallel Path Checking for Linear-Time Temporal Logic With Past and Bounds

Path checking, the special case of the model checking problem where the model under consideration is a single path, plays an important role in monitoring, testing, and verification. We prove that for linear-time temporal logic (LTL), path checking can be efficiently parallelized. In addition to the core logic, we consider the extensions of LTL with bounded-future (BLTL) and past-time (LTL+Past) operators. Even though both extensions improve the succinctness of the logic exponentially, path checking remains efficiently parallelizable: Our algorithm for LTL, LTL+Past, and BLTL+Past is in AC^1(logDCFL) \subseteq NC

Model Checking CTL is Almost Always Inherently Sequential

The model checking problem for CTL is known to be P-complete (Clarke, Emerson, and Sistla (1986), see Schnoebelen (2002)). We consider fragments of CTL obtained by restricting the use of temporal modalities or the use of negations---restrictions already studied for LTL by Sistla and Clarke (1985) and Markey (2004). For all these fragments, except for the trivial case without any temporal operator, we systematically prove model checking to be either inherently sequential (P-complete) or very efficiently parallelizable (LOGCFL-complete). For most fragments, however, model checking for CTL is already P-complete. Hence our results indicate that, in cases where the combined complexity is of relevance, approaching CTL model checking by parallelism cannot be expected to result in any significant speedup. We also completely determine the complexity of the model checking problem for all fragments of the extensions ECTL, CTL+, and ECTL+

On the Complexity of Temporal-Logic Path Checking

Given a formula in a temporal logic such as LTL or MTL, a fundamental problem is the complexity of evaluating the formula on a given finite word. For LTL, the complexity of this task was recently shown to be in NC. In this paper, we present an NC algorithm for MTL, a quantitative (or metric) extension of LTL, and give an NCC algorithm for UTL, the unary fragment of LTL. At the time of writing, MTL is the most expressive logic with an NC path-checking algorithm, and UTL is the most expressive fragment of LTL with a more efficient path-checking algorithm than for full LTL (subject to standard complexity-theoretic assumptions). We then establish a connection between LTL path checking and planar circuits, which we exploit to show that any further progress in determining the precise complexity of LTL path checking would immediately entail more efficient evaluation algorithms than are known for a certain class of planar circuits. The connection further implies that the complexity of LTL path checking depends on the Boolean connectives allowed: adding Boolean exclusive or yields a temporal logic with P-complete path-checking problem

Model Checking CTL is Almost Always Inherently Sequential

The model checking problem for CTL is known to be P-complete (Clarke, Emerson, and Sistla (1986), see Schnoebelen (2002)). We consider fragments of CTL obtained by restricting the use of temporal modalities or the use of negations—restrictions already studied for LTL by Sistla and Clarke (1985) and Markey (2004). For all these fragments, except for the trivial case without any temporal operator, we systematically prove model checking to be either inherently sequential (P-complete) or very efficiently parallelizable (LOGCFL-complete). For most fragments, however, model checking for CTL is already P-complete. Hence our results indicate that in most applications, approaching CTL model checking by parallelism will not result in the desired speed up. We also completely determine the complexity of the model checking problem for all fragments of the extensions ECTL, CTL +, and ECTL +

Model checking finite paths and trees

This thesis presents efficient parallel algorithms for checking temporal logic formulas over finite paths and trees. We show that LTL path checking is in AC1(logDCFL) and CTL tree checking is in AC2(logDCFL). For LTL with pastime and bounded modalities, which is an exponentially more succinct logic, we show that the path checking problem remains in AC1(logDCFL). Our results provide a foundation for efficient algorithms of various applications in monitoring, testing, and verification as well as for query processing for tree-datastructures, e.g. XML documents. The presented path and tree checking algorithms are based on efficient parallel evaluation strategies for monotone Boolean circuits. We reduce the evaluation of product circuits to the problem of evaluating one-input-face monotone planar Boolean circuits: for a monotone Boolean circuit that is a product of a tree and a path, we provide an AC1-reduction; for a monotone Boolean circuit that is a product of two trees, we provide an AC2-reduction. We develop a classification of Kripke structures with respect to the complexity of LTL model checking: Kripke structures for which the problem is PSPACE- complete, Kripke structures for which the problem is coNP-complete, and Kripke structures for which the problem is in NC.Wir präsentieren effiziente parallele Algorithmen zum Überprüfen der Erfülltheit von temporal logischen Formeln auf Pfaden und Bäumen. Wir zeigen, dass für die Logik LTL das Überprüfen von Ausführungspfaden in der Komplexitätsklasse AC1(logDCFL) liegt. Für die Logik CTL ist das Überprüfen von Bäumen in AC2(logDCFL). Für Erweiterungen von LTL mit Vergangenheit und beschränkten zeitlichen Modalitäten beweisen wir, dass Pfade ebenfalls in AC1(logDCFL) überprüft werden können, obwohl die Logik exponentiell kompakter ist als einfaches LTL. Unsere Resultate bielden eine Grundlage für effiziente Algorithmen für verschiedene Anwendungen in den Bereichen der Systemüberwachung, des Testens und der Verfikation sowie für die Anfragebearbeitung für Baumdatenstrukturen, wie zum Beispiel XML Dokumente. Die präsentierten Algorithmen zum Überprüfen von Pfaden und Bäumen basieren auf effizient parallelen Strategien zur Evaluierung von monotonen Boolschen Schaltkreisen. Wir reduzieren die Evaluierung von Produkt-Schaltkreisen auf das Problem der Evaluierung von monoton planaren Boolschen Schaltkreisen, bei denen sich alle Eingaben auf dem äußeren Rand befinden. Für monotone Boolsche Schaltkreise, die das Produkt von einem Baum und einem Pfad sind, geben wir eine AC1-Reduktion an. Für monotone Boolsche Schaltkreise, die das Produkt von zwei Bäumen sind, geben wir eine AC2-Reduktion an. Wir entwickeln eine Klassifizierung von Kripkestrukturen im Hinblick auf die Komplexität des Erfülltheitsproblems für LTL: Kripkestrukturen, für die das Problem PSPACE-vollständig ist, Kripkestrukturen, für die das Problem coNP- vollständig ist, und Kripkestrukturen, für die das Problem in NC liegt

Path Checking for MTL and TPTL over Data Words

Metric temporal logic (MTL) and timed propositional temporal logic (TPTL) are quantitative extensions of linear temporal logic, which are prominent and widely used in the verification of real-timed systems. It was recently shown that the path checking problem for MTL, when evaluated over finite timed words, is in the parallel complexity class NC. In this paper, we derive precise complexity results for the path-checking problem for MTL and TPTL when evaluated over infinite data words over the non-negative integers. Such words may be seen as the behaviours of one-counter machines. For this setting, we give a complete analysis of the complexity of the path-checking problem depending on the number of register variables and the encoding of constraint numbers (unary or binary). As the two main results, we prove that the path-checking problem for MTL is P-complete, whereas the path-checking problem for TPTL is PSPACE-complete. The results yield the precise complexity of model checking deterministic one-counter machines against formulae of MTL and TPTL

Team semantics for the specification and verification of hyperproperties

We develop team semantics for Linear Temporal Logic (LTL) to express hyperproperties, which have recently been identified as a key concept in the verification of information flow properties. Conceptually, we consider an asynchronous and a synchronous variant of team semantics. We study basic properties of this new logic and classify the computational complexity of its satisfiability, path, and model checking problem. Further, we examine how extensions of these basic logics react on adding other atomic operators. Finally, we compare its expressivity to the one of HyperLTL, another recently introduced logic for hyperproperties. Our results show that LTL under team semantics is a viable alternative to HyperLTL, which complements the expressivity of HyperLTL and has partially better algorithmic properties