1,384 research outputs found
Octagonal Domains for Continuous Constraints
International audienceDomains in Continuous Constraint Programming (CP) are generally represented with intervals whose -ary Cartesian product (box) approximates the solution space. This paper proposes a new representation for continuous variable domains based on octagons. We generalize local consistency and split to this octagon representation, and we propose an octagonal-based branch and prune algorithm. Preliminary experimental results show promising performance improvements on several classical benchmarks
Transfer Function Synthesis without Quantifier Elimination
Traditionally, transfer functions have been designed manually for each
operation in a program, instruction by instruction. In such a setting, a
transfer function describes the semantics of a single instruction, detailing
how a given abstract input state is mapped to an abstract output state. The net
effect of a sequence of instructions, a basic block, can then be calculated by
composing the transfer functions of the constituent instructions. However,
precision can be improved by applying a single transfer function that captures
the semantics of the block as a whole. Since blocks are program-dependent, this
approach necessitates automation. There has thus been growing interest in
computing transfer functions automatically, most notably using techniques based
on quantifier elimination. Although conceptually elegant, quantifier
elimination inevitably induces a computational bottleneck, which limits the
applicability of these methods to small blocks. This paper contributes a method
for calculating transfer functions that finesses quantifier elimination
altogether, and can thus be seen as a response to this problem. The
practicality of the method is demonstrated by generating transfer functions for
input and output states that are described by linear template constraints,
which include intervals and octagons.Comment: 37 pages, extended version of ESOP 2011 pape
The Parma Polyhedra Library: Toward a Complete Set of Numerical Abstractions for the Analysis and Verification of Hardware and Software Systems
Since its inception as a student project in 2001, initially just for the
handling (as the name implies) of convex polyhedra, the Parma Polyhedra Library
has been continuously improved and extended by joining scrupulous research on
the theoretical foundations of (possibly non-convex) numerical abstractions to
a total adherence to the best available practices in software development. Even
though it is still not fully mature and functionally complete, the Parma
Polyhedra Library already offers a combination of functionality, reliability,
usability and performance that is not matched by similar, freely available
libraries. In this paper, we present the main features of the current version
of the library, emphasizing those that distinguish it from other similar
libraries and those that are important for applications in the field of
analysis and verification of hardware and software systems.Comment: 38 pages, 2 figures, 3 listings, 3 table
Deciding Conditional Termination
We address the problem of conditional termination, which is that of defining
the set of initial configurations from which a given program always terminates.
First we define the dual set, of initial configurations from which a
non-terminating execution exists, as the greatest fixpoint of the function that
maps a set of states into its pre-image with respect to the transition
relation. This definition allows to compute the weakest non-termination
precondition if at least one of the following holds: (i) the transition
relation is deterministic, (ii) the descending Kleene sequence
overapproximating the greatest fixpoint converges in finitely many steps, or
(iii) the transition relation is well founded. We show that this is the case
for two classes of relations, namely octagonal and finite monoid affine
relations. Moreover, since the closed forms of these relations can be defined
in Presburger arithmetic, we obtain the decidability of the termination problem
for such loops.Comment: 61 pages, 6 figures, 2 table
Quasiperiodic Heisenberg antiferromagnets in two dimensions
This is a review of the properties of 2d quantum quasiperiodic
antiferromagnets as reported in studies that have been carried out in the last
decade. Many results have been obtained for perfectly ordered as well as for
disordered two dimensional bipartite quasiperiodic tilings. The theoretical
methods used include spin wave theory, and renormalization group along with
Quantum Monte Carlo simulations. These methods all show that the ground state
of these unfrustrated antiferromagnets have N\'eel type order but with a highly
complex spatial distribution of local staggered magnetization. The ground state
properties, excitation energies and spatial dependence, structure factor, and
local susceptibilities are presented. The effects of introducing geometrical
disorder on the magnetic properties are discussed.Comment: 21 pages, 29 figure
Arctic octahedron in three-dimensional rhombus tilings and related integer solid partitions
Three-dimensional integer partitions provide a convenient representation of
codimension-one three-dimensional random rhombus tilings. Calculating the
entropy for such a model is a notoriously difficult problem. We apply
transition matrix Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate their entropy with high
precision. We consider both free- and fixed-boundary tilings. Our results
suggest that the ratio of free- and fixed-boundary entropies is
, and can be interpreted as the ratio of the
volumes of two simple, nested, polyhedra. This finding supports a conjecture by
Linde, Moore and Nordahl concerning the ``arctic octahedron phenomenon'' in
three-dimensional random tilings
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