Left-handed completeness

We give a new proof of the completeness of the left-handed star rule of Kleene algebra. The proof is significantly shorter than previous proofs and exposes the rich interaction of algebra and coalgebra in the theory of Kleene algebra

Cyclic Proofs and Jumping Automata

We consider a fragment of a cyclic sequent proof system for Kleene algebra, and we see it as a computational device for recognising languages of words. The starting proof system is linear and we show that it captures precisely the regular languages. When adding the standard contraction rule, the expressivity raises significantly; we characterise the corresponding class of languages using a new notion of multi-head finite automata, where heads can jump

A proof theory of right-linear (omega-)grammars via cyclic proofs

Right-linear (or left-linear) grammars are a well-known class of context-free grammars computing just the regular languages. They may naturally be written as expressions with (least) fixed points but with products restricted to letters as left arguments, giving an alternative to the syntax of regular expressions. In this work, we investigate the resulting logical theory of this syntax. Namely, we propose a theory of right-linear algebras (RLA) over of this syntax and a cyclic proof system CRLA for reasoning about them. We show that CRLA is sound and complete for the intended model of regular languages. From here we recover the same completeness result for RLA by extracting inductive invariants from cyclic proofs, rendering the model of regular languages the free right-linear algebra. Finally, we extend system CRLA by greatest fixed points, nuCRLA, naturally modelled by languages of omega-words thanks to right-linearity. We show a similar soundness and completeness result of (the guarded fragment of) nuCRLA for the model of omega-regular languages, employing game theoretic techniques.Comment: 34 pages, 3 figure

An Elementary Proof of the FMP for Kleene Algebra

Kleene Algebra (KA) is a useful tool for proving that two programs are equivalent by reasoning equationally. Because it abstracts from the meaning of primitive programs, KA's equational theory is decidable, so it integrates well with interactive theorem provers. This raises the question: which equations can we (not) prove using the laws of KA? Moreover, which models of KA are complete, in the sense that they satisfy exactly the provable equations? Kozen (1994) answered these questions by characterizing KA in terms of its language model. Concretely, equivalences provable in KA are exactly those that hold for regular expressions. Pratt (1980) observed that KA is complete w.r.t. relational models, i.e., that its provable equations are those that hold for any relational interpretation. A less known result due to Palka (2005) says that finite models are complete for KA, i.e., that provable equivalences coincide with equations satisfied by all finite KAs. Phrased contrapositively, the latter is a finite model property (FMP): any unprovable equation is falsified by a finite KA. These results can be argued using Kozen's theorem, but the implication is mutual: given that KA is complete w.r.t. finite (resp. relational) models, Palka's (resp. Pratt's) arguments show that it is complete w.r.t. the language model. We embark on a study of the different complete models of KA, and the connections between them. This yields a fourth result subsuming those of Palka and Pratt, namely that KA is complete w.r.t. finite relational models. Next, we put an algebraic spin on Palka's techniques, which yield an elementary proof of the finite model property, and by extension, of Kozen's and Pratt's theorems. In contrast with earlier approaches, this proof relies not on minimality or bisimilarity of automata, but rather on representing the regular expressions involved in terms of transformation automata

The Algebra of Nondeterministic Finite Automata

A process algebra is proposed, whose semantics maps a term to a nondeterministic finite automaton (NFA, for short). We prove a representability theorem: for each NFA $N$, there exists a process algebraic term $p$ such that its semantics is an NFA isomorphic to $N$. Moreover, we provide a concise axiomatization of language equivalence: two NFAs $N_1$ and $N_2$ recognize the same language if and only if the associated terms $p_1$ and $p_2$, respectively, can be equated by means of a set of axioms, comprising 7 axioms plus 3 conditional axioms, only

Kleene Algebra with Hypotheses

We study the Horn theories of Kleene algebras and star continuous Kleene algebras, from the complexity point of view. While their equational theories coincide and are PSpace-complete, their Horn theories differ and are undecidable. We characterise the Horn theory of star continuous Kleene algebras in terms of downward closed languages and we show that when restricting the shape of allowed hypotheses, the problems lie in various levels of the arithmetical or analytical hierarchy. We also answer a question posed by Cohen about hypotheses of the form 1=S where S is a sum of letters: we show that it is decidable

On Tools for Completeness of Kleene Algebra with Hypotheses

In the literature on Kleene algebra, a number of variants have been proposed which impose additional structure specified by a theory, such as Kleene algebra with tests (KAT) and the recent Kleene algebra with observations (KAO), or make specific assumptions about certain constants, as for instance in NetKAT. Many of these variants fit within the unifying perspective offered by Kleene algebra with hypotheses, which comes with a canonical language model constructed from a given set of hypotheses. For the case of KAT, this model corresponds to the familiar interpretation of expressions as languages of guarded strings. A relevant question therefore is whether Kleene algebra together with a given set of hypotheses is complete with respect to its canonical language model. In this paper, we revisit, combine and extend existing results on this question to obtain tools for proving completeness in a modular way. We showcase these tools by giving new and modular proofs of completeness for KAT, KAO and NetKAT, and we prove completeness for new variants of KAT: KAT extended with a constant for the full relation, KAT extended with a converse operation, and a version of KAT where the collection of tests only forms a distributive lattice

On the Fine-Structure of Regular Algebra

Regular algebra is the algebra of regular expressions as induced by regular language identity. We use Isabelle/HOL for a detailed systematic study of the regular algebra axioms given by Boffa, Conway, Kozen and Salomaa. We investigate the relationships between these systems, formalise a soundness proof for the smallest class (Salomaa’s) and obtain completeness for the largest one (Boffa’s) relative to a deep result by Krob. As a case study in formalised mathematics, our investigations also shed some light on the power of theorem proving technology for reasoning with algebras and their models, including proof automation and counterexample generation