38 research outputs found
Fragments and frame classes:Towards a uniform proof theory for modal fixed point logics
This thesis studies the proof theory of modal fixed point logics. In particular, we construct proof systems for various fragments of the modal mu-calculus, interpreted over various classes of frames. With an emphasis on uniform constructions and general results, we aim to bring the relatively underdeveloped proof theory of modal fixed point logics closer to the well-established proof theory of basic modal logic. We employ two main approaches. First, we seek to generalise existing methods for basic modal logic to accommodate fragments of the modal mu-calculus. We use this approach for obtaining Hilbert-style proof systems. Secondly, we adapt existing proof systems for the modal mu-calculus to various classes of frames. This approach yields proof systems which are non-well-founded, or cyclic.The thesis starts with an introduction and some mathematical preliminaries. In Chapter 3 we give hypersequent calculi for modal logic with the master modality, building on work by Ori Lahav. This is followed by an Intermezzo, where we present an abstract framework for cyclic proofs, in which we give sufficient conditions for establishing the bounded proof property. In Chapter 4 we generalise existing work on Hilbert-style proof systems for PDL to the level of the continuous modal mu-calculus. Chapter 5 contains a novel cyclic proof system for the alternation-free two-way modal mu-calculus. Finally, in Chapter 6, we present a cyclic proof system for Guarded Kleene Algebra with Tests and take a first step towards using it to establish the completeness of an algebraic counterpart
Disjunctive bases: normal forms and model theory for modal logics
We present the concept of a disjunctive basis as a generic framework for
normal forms in modal logic based on coalgebra. Disjunctive bases were defined
in previous work on completeness for modal fixpoint logics, where they played a
central role in the proof of a generic completeness theorem for coalgebraic
mu-calculi. Believing the concept has a much wider significance, here we
investigate it more thoroughly in its own right. We show that the presence of a
disjunctive basis at the "one-step" level entails a number of good properties
for a coalgebraic mu-calculus, in particular, a simulation theorem showing that
every alternating automaton can be transformed into an equivalent
nondeterministic one. Based on this, we prove a Lyndon theorem for the full
fixpoint logic, its fixpoint-free fragment and its one-step fragment, a Uniform
Interpolation result, for both the full mu-calculus and its fixpoint-free
fragment, and a Janin-Walukiewicz-style characterization theorem for the
mu-calculus under slightly stronger assumptions.
We also raise the questions, when a disjunctive basis exists, and how
disjunctive bases are related to Moss' coalgebraic "nabla" modalities. Nabla
formulas provide disjunctive bases for many coalgebraic modal logics, but there
are cases where disjunctive bases give useful normal forms even when nabla
formulas fail to do so, our prime example being graded modal logic. We also
show that disjunctive bases are preserved by forming sums, products and
compositions of coalgebraic modal logics, providing tools for modular
construction of modal logics admitting disjunctive bases. Finally, we consider
the problem of giving a category-theoretic formulation of disjunctive bases,
and provide a partial solution
Lindstrom theorems for fragments of first-order logic
Lindstr\"om theorems characterize logics in terms of model-theoretic
conditions such as Compactness and the L\"owenheim-Skolem property. Most
existing characterizations of this kind concern extensions of first-order
logic. But on the other hand, many logics relevant to computer science are
fragments or extensions of fragments of first-order logic, e.g., k-variable
logics and various modal logics. Finding Lindstr\"om theorems for these
languages can be challenging, as most known techniques rely on coding arguments
that seem to require the full expressive power of first-order logic. In this
paper, we provide Lindstr\"om theorems for several fragments of first-order
logic, including the k-variable fragments for k>2, Tarski's relation algebra,
graded modal logic, and the binary guarded fragment. We use two different proof
techniques. One is a modification of the original Lindstr\"om proof. The other
involves the modal concepts of bisimulation, tree unraveling, and finite depth.
Our results also imply semantic preservation theorems.Comment: Appears in Logical Methods in Computer Science (LMCS
The Geometry of Knowledge
The most widely used attractive logical account of knowledge uses standard epistemic models, i.e., graphs whose edges are indistinguishability relations for agents. In this paper, we discuss more general topological models for a multi-agent epistemic language, whose main uses so far have been in reasoning about space. We show that this more geometrical perspective affords greater powers of distinction in the study of common knowledge, defining new collective agents, and merging information for groups of agents
Focus-style proofs for the two-way alternation-free -calculus
We introduce a cyclic proof system for the two-way alternation-free modal
-calculus. The system manipulates one-sided Gentzen sequents and locally
deals with the backwards modalities by allowing analytic applications of the
cut rule. The global effect of backwards modalities on traces is handled by
making the semantics relative to a specific strategy of the opponent in the
evaluation game. This allows us to augment sequents by so-called trace atoms,
describing traces that the proponent can construct against the opponent's
strategy. The idea for trace atoms comes from Vardi's reduction of alternating
two-way automata to deterministic one-way automata. Using the multi-focus
annotations introduced earlier by Marti and Venema, we turn this trace-based
system into a path-based system. We prove that our system is sound for all
sequents and complete for sequents not containing trace atoms.Comment: To appear in proceedings of WoLLIC 202
Multi-Agent Only Knowing on Planet Kripke
International audienceThe idea of only knowing is a natural and intuitive notion to precisely capture the beliefs of a knowledge base. However, an extension to the many agent case, as would be needed in many applications , has been shown to be far from straightforward. For example, previous Kripke frame-based accounts appeal to proof-theoretic constructions like canonical models, while more recent works in the area abandoned Kripke semantics entirely. We propose a new account based on Moss' characteristic formulas, formulated for the usual Kripke semantics. This is shown to come with other benefits: the logic admits a group version of only knowing , and an operator for assessing the epistemic en-trenchment of what an agent or a group only knows is definable. Finally, the multi-agent only knowing operator is shown to be expressible with the cover modality of classical modal logic, which then allows us to obtain a completeness result for a fragment of the logic