370 research outputs found
Better Answers to Real Questions
We consider existential problems over the reals. Extended quantifier
elimination generalizes the concept of regular quantifier elimination by
providing in addition answers, which are descriptions of possible assignments
for the quantified variables. Implementations of extended quantifier
elimination via virtual substitution have been successfully applied to various
problems in science and engineering. So far, the answers produced by these
implementations included infinitesimal and infinite numbers, which are hard to
interpret in practice. We introduce here a post-processing procedure to
convert, for fixed parameters, all answers into standard real numbers. The
relevance of our procedure is demonstrated by application of our implementation
to various examples from the literature, where it significantly improves the
quality of the results
A Generalized Framework for Virtual Substitution
We generalize the framework of virtual substitution for real quantifier
elimination to arbitrary but bounded degrees. We make explicit the
representation of test points in elimination sets using roots of parametric
univariate polynomials described by Thom codes. Our approach follows an early
suggestion by Weispfenning, which has never been carried out explicitly.
Inspired by virtual substitution for linear formulas, we show how to
systematically construct elimination sets containing only test points
representing lower bounds
Tarski's influence on computer science
The influence of Alfred Tarski on computer science was indirect but
significant in a number of directions and was in certain respects fundamental.
Here surveyed is the work of Tarski on the decision procedure for algebra and
geometry, the method of elimination of quantifiers, the semantics of formal
languages, modeltheoretic preservation theorems, and algebraic logic; various
connections of each with computer science are taken up
Competitive Equilibria in Semi-Algebraic Economies
This paper examines the equilibrium correspondence in Arrow-Debreu exchange economies with semi-algebraic preferences. We show that a generic semi-algebraic exchange economy gives rise to a square system of polynomial equations with finitely many solutions. The competitive equilibria form a subset of the solution set and can be identified by verifying finitely many polynomial inequalities. We apply methods from computational algebraic geometry to obtain an equivalent polynomial system of equations that essentially reduces the computation of all equilibria to finding all roots of a univariate polynomial. This polynomial can be used to determine an upper bound on the number of equilibria and to approximate all equilibria numerically. We illustrate our results and computational method with several examples. In particular, we show that in economies with two commodities and two agents with CES utility, the number of competitive equilibria is never larger than three and that multiplicity of equilibria is rare in that it only occurs for a very small fraction of individual endowments and preference parameters.computable general equilibrium, semi-algebraic economy, Groebner bases
A Decision Procedure for Univariate Polynomial Systems Based on Root Counting and Interval Subdivision
This paper presents a formally verified decision procedure for determining the satisfiability of a system of univariate polynomial relations over the real line. The procedure combines a root counting function, based on Sturm's theorem, with an interval subdivision algorithm. Given a system of polynomial relations over the same variable, the decision procedure progressively subdivides the real interval into smaller intervals. The subdivision continues until the satisfiability of the system can be determined on each subinterval using Sturm's theorem on a subset of the system's polynomials. The decision procedure has been formally verified in the Prototype Verification System (PVS). In PVS, the decision procedure is specified as a computable Boolean function on a deep embedding of polynomial relations. This function is used to define a proof producing strategy for automatically proving existential and universal statements on polynomial systems. The soundness of the strategy solely depends on the internal logic of PVS
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