On Equivalence of Infinitary Formulas under the Stable Model Semantics

Propositional formulas that are equivalent in intuitionistic logic, or in its extension known as the logic of here-and-there, have the same stable models. We extend this theorem to propositional formulas with infinitely long conjunctions and disjunctions and show how to apply this generalization to proving properties of aggregates in answer set programming. To appear in Theory and Practice of Logic Programming (TPLP)

Stable Models of Formulas with Generalized Quantifiers (Preliminary Report)

Applications of answer set programming motivated various extensions of the stable model semantics, for instance, to allow aggregates or to facilitate interface with external ontology descriptions. We present a uniform, reductive view on these extensions by viewing them as special cases of formulas with generalized quantifiers. This is done by extending the first-order stable model semantics by Ferraris, Lee and Lifschitz to account for generalized quantifiers and then by reducing the individual extensions to this formalism

Stable Models of Formulas with Generalized Quantifiers (Preliminary Report)

Applications of answer set programming motivated various extensions of the stable model semantics, for instance, to allow aggregates or to facilitate interface with external ontology descriptions. We present a uniform, reductive view on these extensions by viewing them as special cases of formulas with generalized quantifiers. This is done by extending the first-order stable model semantics by Ferraris, Lee and Lifschitz to account for generalized quantifiers and then by reducing the individual extensions to this formalism

Rewriting recursive aggregates in answer set programming: back to monotonicity

Aggregation functions are widely used in answer set programming for representing and reasoning on knowledge involving sets of objects collectively. Current implementations simplify the structure of programs in order to optimize the overall performance. In particular, aggregates are rewritten into simpler forms known as monotone aggregates. Since the evaluation of normal programs with monotone aggregates is in general on a lower complexity level than the evaluation of normal programs with arbitrary aggregates, any faithful translation function must introduce disjunction in rule heads in some cases. However, no function of this kind is known. The paper closes this gap by introducing a polynomial, faithful, and modular translation for rewriting common aggregation functions into the simpler form accepted by current solvers. A prototype system allows for experimenting with arbitrary recursive aggregates, which are also supported in the recent version 4.5 of the grounder gringo, using the methods presented in this paper

An FLP-Style Answer-Set Semantics for Abstract-Constraint Programs with Disjunctions

We introduce an answer-set semantics for abstract-constraint programs with disjunction in rule heads in the style of Faber, Leone, and Pfeifer (FLP). To this end, we extend the definition of an answer set for logic programs with aggregates in rule bodies using the usual FLP-reduct. Additionally, we also provide a characterisation of our semantics in terms of unfounded sets, likewise generalising the standard concept of an unfounded set. Our work is motivated by the desire to have simple and rule-based definitions of the semantics of an answer-set programming (ASP) language that is close to those implemented by the most prominent ASP solvers. The new definitions are intended as a theoretical device to allow for development methods and methodologies for ASP, e.g., debugging or testing techniques, that are general enough to work for different types of solvers. We use abstract constraints as an abstraction of literals whose truth values depend on subsets of an interpretation. This includes weight constraints, aggregates, and external atoms, which are frequently used in real-world answer-set programs. We compare the new semantics to previous semantics for abstract-constraint programs and show that they are equivalent to recent extensions of the FLP semantics to propositional and first-order theories when abstract-constraint programs are viewed as theories

Towards a unified theory of logic programming semantics: Level mapping characterizations of selector generated models

Currently, the variety of expressive extensions and different semantics created for logic programs with negation is diverse and heterogeneous, and there is a lack of comprehensive comparative studies which map out the multitude of perspectives in a uniform way. Most recently, however, new methodologies have been proposed which allow one to derive uniform characterizations of different declarative semantics for logic programs with negation. In this paper, we study the relationship between two of these approaches, namely the level mapping characterizations due to [Hitzler and Wendt 2005], and the selector generated models due to [Schwarz 2004]. We will show that the latter can be captured by means of the former, thereby supporting the claim that level mappings provide a very flexible framework which is applicable to very diversely defined semantics.Comment: 17 page