An expressive completeness theorem for coalgebraic modal mu-calculi

Generalizing standard monadic second-order logic for Kripke models, we introduce monadic second-order logic interpreted over coalgebras for an arbitrary set functor. We then consider invariance under behavioral equivalence of MSO-formulas. More specifically, we investigate whether the coalgebraic mu-calculus is the bisimulation-invariant fragment of the monadic second-order language for a given functor. Using automatatheoretic techniques and building on recent results by the third author, we show that in order to provide such a characterization result it suffices to find what we call an adequate uniform construction for the coalgebraic type functor. As direct applications of this result we obtain a partly new proof of the Janin-Walukiewicz Theorem for the modal mu-calculus, avoiding the use of syntactic normal forms, and bisimulation invariance results for the bag functor (graded modal logic) and all exponential polynomial functors (including the "game functor"). As a more involved application, involving additional non-trivial ideas, we also derive a characterization theorem for the monotone modal mu-calculus, with respect to a natural monadic second-order language for monotone neighborhood models.Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1501.0721

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

Program schemata vs. automata for decidability of program logics

AbstractA new technique for decidability of program logics is introduced. This technique is applied to the most expressive propositional program logic - mu-calculus

Coalgebraic fixpoint logic:Expressivity and completeness results

This dissertation studies the expressivity and completeness of the coalgebraic μ-calculus. This logic is a coalgebraic generalization of the standard μ-calculus, which creates a uniform framework to study different modal fixpoint logics. Our main objective is to show that several important results, such as uniform interpolation, expressive completeness and axiomatic completeness of the standard μ-calculus can be generalized to the level of coalgebras. To achieve this goal we develop automata and game-theoretic tools to study properties of coalgebraic μ-calculus.In Chapter 3, we prove a uniform interpolation theorem for the coalgebraic μ-calculus. This theorem generalizes a result by D’Agostino and Hollenberg (2000) to a wider class of fixpoint logics including the monotone μ-calculus, which is the extension of monotone modal logic with fixpoint operators. In Chapter 4, we generalize the Janin-Walukiewicz theorem (1996), which states that the modal μ-calculus captures exactly the bisimulation invariant fragment of monadic second-order logic, to the level of coalgebras. We obtain a partly new proof of the Janin-Walukiewicz theorem, bisimulation invariance results for the bag functor (graded modal logic), and all exponential polynomial functors. We also derive a characterization theorem for the monotone modal μ-calculus, with respect to a natural monadic second-order language for monotone neighborhood models. In Chapter 5, we prove an axiomatic completeness result for the coalgebraic μ-calculus. Applying ideas from automata theory and coalgebra, we generalize Walukiewicz’ proof of completeness for the modal μ-calculus (2000) to the level of coalgebras. Our main contribution is to bring automata explicitly into the proof theory and distinguish two key aspects of the coalgebraic μ-calculus (and the standard μ-calculus): the one-step dynamic encoded in the semantics of the modal operators, and the combinatorics involved in dealing with nested fixpoints. We provide a generalization of Walukiewicz’ main technical result, which states that every formula of the modal μ-calculus provably implies the translation of a disjunctive automaton, to the level of coalgebras. From this the completeness theorem is almost immediate

Coalgebraic fixpoint logic:Expressivity and completeness results

This dissertation studies the expressivity and completeness of the coalgebraic μ-calculus. This logic is a coalgebraic generalization of the standard μ-calculus, which creates a uniform framework to study different modal fixpoint logics. Our main objective is to show that several important results, such as uniform interpolation, expressive completeness and axiomatic completeness of the standard μ-calculus can be generalized to the level of coalgebras. To achieve this goal we develop automata and game-theoretic tools to study properties of coalgebraic μ-calculus.In Chapter 3, we prove a uniform interpolation theorem for the coalgebraic μ-calculus. This theorem generalizes a result by D’Agostino and Hollenberg (2000) to a wider class of fixpoint logics including the monotone μ-calculus, which is the extension of monotone modal logic with fixpoint operators. In Chapter 4, we generalize the Janin-Walukiewicz theorem (1996), which states that the modal μ-calculus captures exactly the bisimulation invariant fragment of monadic second-order logic, to the level of coalgebras. We obtain a partly new proof of the Janin-Walukiewicz theorem, bisimulation invariance results for the bag functor (graded modal logic), and all exponential polynomial functors. We also derive a characterization theorem for the monotone modal μ-calculus, with respect to a natural monadic second-order language for monotone neighborhood models. In Chapter 5, we prove an axiomatic completeness result for the coalgebraic μ-calculus. Applying ideas from automata theory and coalgebra, we generalize Walukiewicz’ proof of completeness for the modal μ-calculus (2000) to the level of coalgebras. Our main contribution is to bring automata explicitly into the proof theory and distinguish two key aspects of the coalgebraic μ-calculus (and the standard μ-calculus): the one-step dynamic encoded in the semantics of the modal operators, and the combinatorics involved in dealing with nested fixpoints. We provide a generalization of Walukiewicz’ main technical result, which states that every formula of the modal μ-calculus provably implies the translation of a disjunctive automaton, to the level of coalgebras. From this the completeness theorem is almost immediate

The \mu-Calculus Alternation Hierarchy Collapses over Structures with Restricted Connectivity

It is known that the alternation hierarchy of least and greatest fixpoint operators in the mu-calculus is strict. However, the strictness of the alternation hierarchy does not necessarily carry over when considering restricted classes of structures. A prominent instance is the class of infinite words over which the alternation-free fragment is already as expressive as the full mu-calculus. Our current understanding of when and why the mu-calculus alternation hierarchy is not strict is limited. This paper makes progress in answering these questions by showing that the alternation hierarchy of the mu-calculus collapses to the alternation-free fragment over some classes of structures, including infinite nested words and finite graphs with feedback vertex sets of a bounded size. Common to these classes is that the connectivity between the components in a structure from such a class is restricted in the sense that the removal of certain vertices from the structure's graph decomposes it into graphs in which all paths are of finite length. Our collapse results are obtained in an automata-theoretic setting. They subsume, generalize, and strengthen several prior results on the expressivity of the mu-calculus over restricted classes of structures.Comment: In Proceedings GandALF 2012, arXiv:1210.202

Interviews with the 2021 CONCUR Test-of-Time Award recipients

Last year, the CONCUR conference series inaugurated its Test-of-Time Award, purpose of which is to recognise important achievements in Con- currency Theory that were published at the CONCUR conference and that have stood the test of time. This year, the following four papers were chosen to receive the CONCUR Test-of-Time Awards for the periods 1994–1997 and 1996–1999 by a jury consisting of Rob van Glabbeek (chair), Luca de Alfaro, Nathalie Bertrand, Catuscia Palamidessi, and Nobuko Yoshida: - David Janin and Igor Walukiewicz. On the Expressive Completeness of the Propositional mu-Calculus with respect to Monadic Second Or- der Logic [3]. - Uwe Nestmann and Benjamin C. Pierce. Decoding Choice Encod- ings [4]. - Ahmed Bouajjani, Javier Esparza, and the late Oded Maler. Reacha- bility Analysis of Pushdown Automata: Application to Model- checking [2]. - Rajeev Alur, Thomas A. Henzinger, Orna Kupferman, and Moshe Y. Vardi. Alternating Refinement Relations [1]. This year, the second paper was live-interviewed by Nobuko Yoshida; the third paper was interviewed by Nathalie Bertrand and the forth paper was interviewed by Luca Aceto. Adam Barwell and Francisco Ferreira helped making the article from the live interview by Yoshida