6,523 research outputs found
Fast algorithms for handling diagonal constraints in timed automata
A popular method for solving reachability in timed automata proceeds by
enumerating reachable sets of valuations represented as zones. A na\"ive
enumeration of zones does not terminate. Various termination mechanisms have
been studied over the years. Coming up with efficient termination mechanisms
has been remarkably more challenging when the automaton has diagonal
constraints in guards.
In this paper, we propose a new termination mechanism for timed automata with
diagonal constraints based on a new simulation relation between zones.
Experiments with an implementation of this simulation show significant gains
over existing methods.Comment: Shorter version of this article to appear in CAV 201
Symbolic Algorithms for Language Equivalence and Kleene Algebra with Tests
We first propose algorithms for checking language equivalence of finite
automata over a large alphabet. We use symbolic automata, where the transition
function is compactly represented using a (multi-terminal) binary decision
diagrams (BDD). The key idea consists in computing a bisimulation by exploring
reachable pairs symbolically, so as to avoid redundancies. This idea can be
combined with already existing optimisations, and we show in particular a nice
integration with the disjoint sets forest data-structure from Hopcroft and
Karp's standard algorithm. Then we consider Kleene algebra with tests (KAT), an
algebraic theory that can be used for verification in various domains ranging
from compiler optimisation to network programming analysis. This theory is
decidable by reduction to language equivalence of automata on guarded strings,
a particular kind of automata that have exponentially large alphabets. We
propose several methods allowing to construct symbolic automata out of KAT
expressions, based either on Brzozowski's derivatives or standard automata
constructions. All in all, this results in efficient algorithms for deciding
equivalence of KAT expressions
Distributed Graph Automata and Verification of Distributed Algorithms
Combining ideas from distributed algorithms and alternating automata, we
introduce a new class of finite graph automata that recognize precisely the
languages of finite graphs definable in monadic second-order logic. By
restricting transitions to be nondeterministic or deterministic, we also obtain
two strictly weaker variants of our automata for which the emptiness problem is
decidable. As an application, we suggest how suitable graph automata might be
useful in formal verification of distributed algorithms, using Floyd-Hoare
logic.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figures, includes a condensed version of the author's
Master's thesis arXiv:1404.6503. (This version of the article (v2) is
identical to the previous one (v1), except for minor changes in phrasing.
SAT-based Explicit LTL Reasoning
We present here a new explicit reasoning framework for linear temporal logic
(LTL), which is built on top of propositional satisfiability (SAT) solving. As
a proof-of-concept of this framework, we describe a new LTL satisfiability
tool, Aalta\_v2.0, which is built on top of the MiniSAT SAT solver. We test the
effectiveness of this approach by demonnstrating that Aalta\_v2.0 significantly
outperforms all existing LTL satisfiability solvers. Furthermore, we show that
the framework can be extended from propositional LTL to assertional LTL (where
we allow theory atoms), by replacing MiniSAT with the Z3 SMT solver, and
demonstrating that this can yield an exponential improvement in performance
"More Deterministic" vs. "Smaller" Buechi Automata for Efficient LTL Model Checking
The standard technique for LTL model checking (M\models\neg\vi) consists on translating the negation of the LTL specification, \vi, into a B\"uchi automaton A_\vi, and then on checking if the product M \times A_\vi has an empty language. The efforts to maximize the efficiency of this process have so far concentrated on developing translation algorithms producing B\"uchi automata which are ``{\em as small as possible}'', under the implicit conjecture that this fact should make the final product smaller. In this paper we build on a different conjecture and present an alternative approach in which we generate instead B\"uchi automata which are ``{\em as deterministic as possible}'', in the sense that we try to reduce as much as we are able to the presence of non-deterministic decision states in A_\vi. We motivate our choice and present some empirical tests to support this approach
Higher-Dimensional Timed Automata
We introduce a new formalism of higher-dimensional timed automata, based on
van Glabbeek's higher-dimensional automata and Alur's timed automata. We prove
that their reachability is PSPACE-complete and can be decided using zone-based
algorithms. We also show how to use tensor products to combat state-space
explosion and how to extend the setting to higher-dimensional hybrid automata
Formal Verification of Differential Privacy for Interactive Systems
Differential privacy is a promising approach to privacy preserving data
analysis with a well-developed theory for functions. Despite recent work on
implementing systems that aim to provide differential privacy, the problem of
formally verifying that these systems have differential privacy has not been
adequately addressed. This paper presents the first results towards automated
verification of source code for differentially private interactive systems. We
develop a formal probabilistic automaton model of differential privacy for
systems by adapting prior work on differential privacy for functions. The main
technical result of the paper is a sound proof technique based on a form of
probabilistic bisimulation relation for proving that a system modeled as a
probabilistic automaton satisfies differential privacy. The novelty lies in the
way we track quantitative privacy leakage bounds using a relation family
instead of a single relation. We illustrate the proof technique on a
representative automaton motivated by PINQ, an implemented system that is
intended to provide differential privacy. To make our proof technique easier to
apply to realistic systems, we prove a form of refinement theorem and apply it
to show that a refinement of the abstract PINQ automaton also satisfies our
differential privacy definition. Finally, we begin the process of automating
our proof technique by providing an algorithm for mechanically checking a
restricted class of relations from the proof technique.Comment: 65 pages with 1 figur
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