Volume 7, Issue 4

2011


1. Computational Models of Certain Hyperspaces of Quasi-metric Spaces

Massoud Pourmahdian ; Mahdi Ali-Akbari.
In this paper, for a given sequentially Yoneda-complete T_1 quasi-metric space (X,d), the domain theoretic models of the hyperspace K_0(X) of nonempty compact subsets of (X,d) are studied. To this end, the $\omega$-Plotkin domain of the space of formal balls BX, denoted by CBX is considered. This domain is given as the chain completion of the set of all finite subsets of BX with respect to the Egli-Milner relation. Further, a map $\phi:K_0(X)\rightarrow CBX$ is established and proved that it is an embedding whenever K_0(X) is equipped with the Vietoris topology and respectively CBX with the Scott topology. Moreover, if any compact subset of (X,d) is d^{-1}-precompact, \phi is an embedding with respect to the topology of Hausdorff quasi-metric H_d on K_0(X). Therefore, it is concluded that (CBX,\sqsubseteq,\phi) is an $\omega$-computational model for the hyperspace K_0(X) endowed with the Vietoris and respectively the Hausdorff topology. Next, an algebraic sequentially Yoneda-complete quasi-metric D on CBX$ is introduced in such a way that the specialization order $\sqsubseteq_D$ is equivalent to the usual partial order of CBX and, furthermore, $\phi:({\cal K}_0(X),H_d)\rightarrow({\bf C}{\bf B}X,D)$ is an isometry. This shows that (CBX,\sqsubseteq,\phi,D) is a quantitative $\omega$-computational model for (K_(X),H_d).

2. The descriptive set-theoretic complexity of the set of points of continuity of a multi-valued function

Vassilios Gregoriades.
In this article we treat a notion of continuity for a multi-valued function $F$ and we compute the descriptive set-theoretic complexity of the set of all $x$ for which $F$ is continuous at $x$. We give conditions under which the latter set is either a $G_\delta$ set or the countable union of $G_\delta$ sets. Also we provide a counterexample which shows that the latter result is optimum under the same conditions. Moreover we prove that those conditions are necessary in order to obtain that the set of points of continuity of $F$ is Borel i.e., we show that if we drop some of the previous conditions then there is a multi-valued function $F$ whose graph is a Borel set and the set of points of continuity of $F$ is not a Borel set. Finally we give some analogous results regarding a stronger notion of continuity for a multi-valued function. This article is motivated by a question of M. Ziegler in [{\em Real Computation with Least Discrete Advice: A Complexity Theory of Nonuniform Computability with Applications to Linear Algebra}, {\sl submitted}].

3. A decidable characterization of locally testable tree languages

Thomas Place ; Luc Segoufin.
A regular tree language L is locally testable if membership of a tree in L depends only on the presence or absence of some fix set of neighborhoods in the tree. In this paper we show that it is decidable whether a regular tree language is locally testable. The decidability is shown for ranked trees and for unranked unordered trees.

4. Context-Bounded Analysis For Concurrent Programs With Dynamic Creation of Threads

Mohamed Faouzi Atig ; Ahmed Bouajjani ; Shaz Qadeer.
Context-bounded analysis has been shown to be both efficient and effective at finding bugs in concurrent programs. According to its original definition, context-bounded analysis explores all behaviors of a concurrent program up to some fixed number of context switches between threads. This definition is inadequate for programs that create threads dynamically because bounding the number of context switches in a computation also bounds the number of threads involved in the computation. In this paper, we propose a more general definition of context-bounded analysis useful for programs with dynamic thread creation. The idea is to bound the number of context switches for each thread instead of bounding the number of switches of all threads. We consider several variants based on this new definition, and we establish decidability and complexity results for the analysis induced by them.

5. Proof-irrelevant model of CC with predicative induction and judgmental equality

Gyesik Lee ; Benjamin Werner.
We present a set-theoretic, proof-irrelevant model for Calculus of Constructions (CC) with predicative induction and judgmental equality in Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory with an axiom for countably many inaccessible cardinals. We use Aczel's trace encoding which is universally defined for any function type, regardless of being impredicative. Direct and concrete interpretations of simultaneous induction and mutually recursive functions are also provided by extending Dybjer's interpretations on the basis of Aczel's rule sets. Our model can be regarded as a higher-order generalization of the truth-table methods. We provide a relatively simple consistency proof of type theory, which can be used as the basis for a theorem prover.

6. The Complexity of Rooted Phylogeny Problems

Manuel Bodirsky ; Jens K Mueller.
Several computational problems in phylogenetic reconstruction can be formulated as restrictions of the following general problem: given a formula in conjunctive normal form where the literals are rooted triples, is there a rooted binary tree that satisfies the formula? If the formulas do not contain disjunctions, the problem becomes the famous rooted triple consistency problem, which can be solved in polynomial time by an algorithm of Aho, Sagiv, Szymanski, and Ullman. If the clauses in the formulas are restricted to disjunctions of negated triples, Ng, Steel, and Wormald showed that the problem remains NP-complete. We systematically study the computational complexity of the problem for all such restrictions of the clauses in the input formula. For certain restricted disjunctions of triples we present an algorithm that has sub-quadratic running time and is asymptotically as fast as the fastest known algorithm for the rooted triple consistency problem. We also show that any restriction of the general rooted phylogeny problem that does not fall into our tractable class is NP-complete, using known results about the complexity of Boolean constraint satisfaction problems. Finally, we present a pebble game argument that shows that the rooted triple consistency problem (and also all generalizations studied in this paper) cannot be solved by Datalog.

7. A note on the expressive power of linear orders

Thomas Schwentick ; Nicole Schweikardt.
This article shows that there exist two particular linear orders such that first-order logic with these two linear orders has the same expressive power as first-order logic with the Bit-predicate FO(Bit). As a corollary we obtain that there also exists a built-in permutation such that first-order logic with a linear order and this permutation is as expressive as FO(Bit).

8. Timed Parity Games: Complexity and Robustness

Krishnendu Chatterjee ; Thomas A. Henzinger ; Vinayak S. Prabhu.
We consider two-player games played in real time on game structures with clocks where the objectives of players are described using parity conditions. The games are \emph{concurrent} in that at each turn, both players independently propose a time delay and an action, and the action with the shorter delay is chosen. To prevent a player from winning by blocking time, we restrict each player to play strategies that ensure that the player cannot be responsible for causing a zeno run. First, we present an efficient reduction of these games to \emph{turn-based} (i.e., not concurrent) \emph{finite-state} (i.e., untimed) parity games. Our reduction improves the best known complexity for solving timed parity games. Moreover, the rich class of algorithms for classical parity games can now be applied to timed parity games. The states of the resulting game are based on clock regions of the original game, and the state space of the finite game is linear in the size of the region graph. Second, we consider two restricted classes of strategies for the player that represents the controller in a real-time synthesis problem, namely, \emph{limit-robust} and \emph{bounded-robust} winning strategies. Using a limit-robust winning strategy, the controller cannot choose an exact real-valued time delay but must allow for some nonzero jitter in each of its actions. If there is a given lower bound on the jitter, then the strategy is bounded-robust winning. We show that exact strategies are more […]

9. Complexity of Model Checking Recursion Schemes for Fragments of the Modal Mu-Calculus

Naoki Kobayashi ; C. -H. Luke Ong.
Ong has shown that the modal mu-calculus model checking problem (equivalently, the alternating parity tree automaton (APT) acceptance problem) of possibly-infinite ranked trees generated by order-n recursion schemes is n-EXPTIME complete. We consider two subclasses of APT and investigate the complexity of the respective acceptance problems. The main results are that, for APT with a single priority, the problem is still n-EXPTIME complete; whereas, for APT with a disjunctive transition function, the problem is (n-1)-EXPTIME complete. This study was motivated by Kobayashi's recent work showing that the resource usage verification of functional programs can be reduced to the model checking of recursion schemes. As an application, we show that the resource usage verification problem is (n-1)-EXPTIME complete.