81 research outputs found
Weighted automata as coalgebras in categories of matrices
The evolution from non-deterministic to weighted automata represents a shift from qual- itative to quantitative methods in computer science. The trend calls for a language able to reconcile quantitative reasoning with formal logic and set theory, which have for so many years supported qualitative reasoning. Such a lingua franca should be typed, poly- morphic, diagrammatic, calculational and easy to blend with conventional notation.
This paper puts forward typed linear algebra as a candidate notation for such a unifying role. This notation, which emerges from regarding matrices as morphisms of suitable categories, is put at work in describing weighted automata as coalgebras in such categories.
Some attention is paid to the interface between the index-free (categorial) language of matrix algebra and the corresponding index-wise, set-theoretic notation.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT
Proper Functors and Fixed Points for Finite Behaviour
The rational fixed point of a set functor is well-known to capture the
behaviour of finite coalgebras. In this paper we consider functors on algebraic
categories. For them the rational fixed point may no longer be fully abstract,
i.e. a subcoalgebra of the final coalgebra. Inspired by \'Esik and Maletti's
notion of a proper semiring, we introduce the notion of a proper functor. We
show that for proper functors the rational fixed point is determined as the
colimit of all coalgebras with a free finitely generated algebra as carrier and
it is a subcoalgebra of the final coalgebra. Moreover, we prove that a functor
is proper if and only if that colimit is a subcoalgebra of the final coalgebra.
These results serve as technical tools for soundness and completeness proofs
for coalgebraic regular expression calculi, e.g. for weighted automata
Behavioural equivalences for timed systems
Timed transition systems are behavioural models that include an explicit
treatment of time flow and are used to formalise the semantics of several
foundational process calculi and automata. Despite their relevance, a general
mathematical characterisation of timed transition systems and their behavioural
theory is still missing. We introduce the first uniform framework for timed
behavioural models that encompasses known behavioural equivalences such as
timed bisimulations, timed language equivalences as well as their weak and
time-abstract counterparts. All these notions of equivalences are naturally
organised by their discriminating power in a spectrum. We prove that this
result does not depend on the type of the systems under scrutiny: it holds for
any generalisation of timed transition system. We instantiate our framework to
timed transition systems and their quantitative extensions such as timed
probabilistic systems
A coalgebraic perspective on linear weighted automata
Weighted automata are a generalization of non-deterministic automata where each transition,
in addition to an input
letter, has also a quantity expressing the weight (e.g. cost or probability) of its
execution. As for non-deterministic
automata, their behaviours can be expressed in terms of either (weighted) bisimilarity
or (weighted) language equivalence.
Coalgebras provide a categorical framework for the uniform study of state-based systems
and their behaviours.
In this work, we show that coalgebras can suitably model weighted automata in two different
ways: coalgebras on
Set (the category of sets and functions) characterize weighted bisimilarity, while coalgebras on Vect (the category of
vector spaces and linear maps) characterize weighted language equivalence.
Relying on the second characterization, we show three different procedures for computing weighted language
equivalence. The first one consists in a generalizion of the usual partition refinement algorithm for ordinary automata.
The second one is the backward version of the first one. The third procedure relies on a syntactic representation of
rational weighted languages
A coalgebraic perspective on minimization, determinization and behavioural metrics
Coalgebra offers a unified theory of state based systems, including infinite streams, labelled transition systems and deterministic automata. In this paper, we use the coalgebraic view on systems to derive, in a uniform way, abstract procedures for checking behavioural equivalence in coalgebras, which perform (a combination of) minimization and determinization in the system. First, we show that for coalgebras on categories equipped with factorization structures, there exists an abstract procedure for
equivalence checking. For instance, when considering epi-mono factorizations in the category of sets and functions, this procedure corresponds to the usual (coalgebraic) minimization algorithm and two states are behaviourally equivalent iff they are mapped to the same state in the minimized coalgebra. Second, motivated by several examples, we consider coalgebras on categories without suitable factorization structures: under certain conditions, it is possible to apply the above procedure after transforming coalgebras with reflections. This transformation can be thought of as some kind of determinization. Finally, we show that the result of the procedure also induces a pseudo-metric on the states, in such a way that the distance between each pair of states is minimized
A Coalgebraic Approach to Reducing Finitary Automata
Compact representations of automata are important for efficiency. In this
paper, we study methods to compute reduced automata, in which no two states
accept the same language. We do this for finitary automata (FA), an abstract
definition that encompasses probabilistic and weighted automata. Our procedure
makes use of Milius' locally finite fixpoint. We present a reduction algorithm
that instantiates to probabilistic and S-linear weighted automata (WA) for a
large class of semirings. Moreover, we propose a potential connection between
properness of a semiring and our provided reduction algorithm for WAs, paving
the way for future work in connecting the reduction of automata to the
properness of their associated coalgebras
Typed linear algebra for weighted (probabilistic) automata
There is a need for a language able to reconcile the recent upsurge of interest in quantitative methods in the software sciences with logic and set theory that have been used for so many years in capturing the qualitative aspects of the same body of knowledge. Such a lingua franca should be typed, polymorphic, diagrammatic, calculational and easy to blend with traditional notation.
This paper puts forward typed linear algebra (LA) as a candidate notation for such a role. Typed LA emerges from regarding matrices as morphisms of suitable categories whereby traditional linear algebra is equipped with a type system.
In this paper we show typed LA at work in describing weighted (prob- abilistic) automata. Some attention is paid to the interface between the index-free language of matrix combinators and the corresponding index- wise notation, so as to blend with traditional set theoretic notation.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT
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