A decision procedure for bisimilarity of generalized regular expressions.

Contains fulltext : 84383.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)SBMF '2010, 8 november 201

Non-Deterministic Kleene Coalgebras

In this paper, we present a systematic way of deriving (1) languages of (generalised) regular expressions, and (2) sound and complete axiomatizations thereof, for a wide variety of systems. This generalizes both the results of Kleene (on regular languages and deterministic finite automata) and Milner (on regular behaviours and finite labelled transition systems), and includes many other systems such as Mealy and Moore machines

Bisimilarity of Open Terms in Stream GSOS

Stream GSOS is a specification format for operations and calculi on infinite sequences. The notion of bisimilarity provides a canonical proof technique for equivalence of closed terms in such specifications. In this paper, we focus on open terms, which may contain variables, and which are equivalent whenever they denote the same stream for every possible instantiation of the variables. Our main contribution is to capture equivalence of open terms as bisimilarity on certain Mealy machines, providing a concrete proof technique. Moreover, we introduce an enhancement of this technique, called bisimulation up-to substitutions, and show how to combine it with other up-to techniques to obtain a powerful method for proving equivalence of open terms

A coalgebraic perspective on logical interpretations

In Computer Science stepwise refinement of algebraic specifications is a well-known formal methodology for rigorous program development. This paper illustrates how techniques from Algebraic Logic, in particular that of interpretation, understood as a multifunction that preserves and reflects logical consequence, capture a number of relevant transformations in the context of software design, reuse, and adaptation, difficult to deal with in classical approaches. Examples include data encapsulation and the decomposition of operations into atomic transactions. But if interpretations open such a new research avenue in program refinement, (conceptual) tools are needed to reason about them. In this line, the paper’s main contribution is a study of the correspondence between logical interpretations and morphisms of a particular kind of coalgebras. This opens way to the use of coalgebraic constructions, such as simulation and bisimulation, in the study of interpretations between (abstract) logics.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Open Markov Processes and Reaction Networks

We define the concept of an `open' Markov process, a continuous-time Markov chain equipped with specified boundary states through which probability can flow in and out of the system. External couplings which fix the probabilities of boundary states induce non-equilibrium steady states characterized by non-zero probability currents flowing through the system. We show that these non-equilibrium steady states minimize a quadratic form which we call `dissipation.' This is closely related to Prigogine's principle of minimum entropy production. We bound the rate of change of the entropy of a driven non-equilibrium steady state relative to the underlying equilibrium state in terms of the flow of probability through the boundary of the process. We then consider open Markov processes as morphisms in a symmetric monoidal category by splitting up their boundary states into certain sets of `inputs' and `outputs.' Composition corresponds to gluing the outputs of one such open Markov process onto the inputs of another so that the probability flowing out of the first process is equal to the probability flowing into the second. We construct a `black-box' functor characterizing the behavior of an open Markov process in terms of the space of possible steady state probabilities and probability currents along the boundary. The fact that this is a functor means that the behavior of a composite open Markov process can be computed by composing the behaviors of the open Markov processes from which it is composed. We prove a similar black-boxing theorem for reaction networks whose dynamics are given by the non-linear rate equation. Along the way we describe a more general category of open dynamical systems where composition corresponds to gluing together open dynamical systems.Comment: 140 pages, University of California Riverside PhD Dissertatio

The Algebra of Open and Interconnected Systems

Herein we develop category-theoretic tools for understanding network-style diagrammatic languages. The archetypal network-style diagrammatic language is that of electric circuits; other examples include signal flow graphs, Markov processes, automata, Petri nets, chemical reaction networks, and so on. The key feature is that the language is comprised of a number of components with multiple (input/output) terminals, each possibly labelled with some type, that may then be connected together along these terminals to form a larger network. The components form hyperedges between labelled vertices, and so a diagram in this language forms a hypergraph. We formalise the compositional structure by introducing the notion of a hypergraph category. Network-style diagrammatic languages and their semantics thus form hypergraph categories, and semantic interpretation gives a hypergraph functor. The first part of this thesis develops the theory of hypergraph categories. In particular, we introduce the tools of decorated cospans and corelations. Decorated cospans allow straightforward construction of hypergraph categories from diagrammatic languages: the inputs, outputs, and their composition are modelled by the cospans, while the 'decorations' specify the components themselves. Not all hypergraph categories can be constructed, however, through decorated cospans. Decorated corelations are a more powerful version that permits construction of all hypergraph categories and hypergraph functors. These are often useful for constructing the semantic categories of diagrammatic languages and functors from diagrams to the semantics. To illustrate these principles, the second part of this thesis details applications to linear time-invariant dynamical systems and passive linear networks.Comment: 230 pages. University of Oxford DPhil Thesi

Circuits, Bond Graphs, and Signal-Flow Diagrams: A Categorical Perspective

We use the framework of "props" to study electrical circuits, signal-flow diagrams, and bond graphs. A prop is a strict symmetric monoidal category where the objects are natural numbers, with the tensor product of objects given by addition. In this approach, electrical circuits make up the morphisms in a prop, as do signal-flow diagrams, and bond graphs. A network, such as an electrical circuit, with $m$ inputs and $n$ outputs is a morphism from $m$ to $n$, while putting networks together in series is composition, and setting them side by side is tensoring. Here we work out the details of this approach for various kinds of electrical circuits, then signal-flow diagrams, and then bond graphs. Each kind of network corresponds to a mathematically natural prop. We also describe the "behavior" of electrical circuits, bond graphs, and signal-flow diagrams using morphisms between props. To assign a behavior to a network we "black box" the network, which forgets its inner workings and records only the relation it imposes between inputs and outputs. The process of black-boxing a network then corresponds to a morphism between props. Interestingly, there are two different behaviors for any bond graph, related by a natural transformation. To achieve all of this we first prove some foundational results about props. These results let us describe any prop in terms of generators and equations, and also define morphisms of props by naming where the generators go and checking that relevant equations hold. Technically, the key tools are the Rosebrugh--Sabadini--Walters result relating circuits to special commutative Frobenius monoids, the monadic adjunction between props and signatures, and a result saying which symmetric monoidal categories are equivalent to props.Comment: PhD thesis, 201

Stream Differential Equations: Specification Formats and Solution Methods

Streams, or innite sequences, are innite objects of a very simple type, yet they have a rich theory partly due to their ubiquity in mathematics and computer science. Stream dierential equations are a coinductive method for specifying streams and stream operations, and their theory has been developed in many papers over the past two decades. In this paper we present a survey of the many results in this area. Our focus is on the classication of dierent formats of stream dierential equations, their solution methods, and the classes of streams they can dene. Moreover, we describe in detail the connection between the so-called syntactic solution method and abstract GSOS