Modal operator

About: Modal operator is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1151 publications have been published within this topic receiving 22865 citations. The topic is also known as: modal connective.

On the Complexity of Modal Separation Logics

Abstract: We introduce a modal separation logic MSL whose models are memory states from separation logic and the logical connectives include modal operators as well as separating conjunction and implication from separation logic. With such a combination of operators, some fragments of MSL can be seen as genuine modal logics whereas some others capture standard separation logics, leading to an original language to speak about memory states. We analyse the decidability status and the computational complexity of several fragments of MSL, leading to surprising results, obtained by designing proof methods that take into account the modal and separation features of MSL. For example, the satisfiability problem for the fragment of MSL with 3, the inequality modality = and separating conjunction * is shown Tower-complete whereas the restriction either to 3 and * or to = and * is only NP-complete.

Dynamic Logics of Dynamical Systems

Abstract: We survey dynamic logics for specifying and verifying properties of dynamical systems, including hybrid systems, distributed hybrid systems, and stochastic hybrid systems. A dynamic logic is a first-order modal logic with a pair of parametrized modal operators for each dynamical system to express necessary or possible properties of their transition behavior. Due to their full basis of first-order modal logic operators, dynamic logics can express a rich variety of system properties, including safety, controllability, reactivity, liveness, and quantified parametrized properties, even about relations between multiple dynamical systems. In this survey, we focus on some of the representatives of the family of differential dynamic logics, which share the ability to express properties of dynamical systems having continuous dynamics described by various forms of differential equations. We explain the dynamical system models, dynamic logics of dynamical systems, their semantics, their axiomatizations, and proof calculi for proving logical formulas about these dynamical systems. We study differential invariants, i.e., induction principles for differential equations. We survey theoretical results, including soundness and completeness and deductive power. Differential dynamic logics have been implemented in automatic and interactive theorem provers and have been used successfully to verify safety-critical applications in automotive, aviation, railway, robotics, and analogue electrical circuits.

Using modal logics to express and check global graph properties

Abstract: Graphs are among the most frequently used structures in Computer Science. Some of the properties that must be checked in many applications are connectivity, acyclicity and the Eulerian and Hamiltonian properties. In this work, we analyze how we can express these four properties with modal logics. This involves two issues: whether each of the modal languages under consideration has enough expressive power to describe these properties and how complex (computationally) it is to use these logics to actually test whether a given graph has some desired property. First, we show that these properties are not definable in a basic modal logic or in any bisimulation-invariant extension of it, like the modal μ-calculus. We then show that it is possible to express some of the above properties in a basic hybrid logic. Unfortunately, the Hamiltonian and Eulerian properties still cannot be efficiently checked. In a second attempt, we propose an extension of CTL∗ with nominals and show that the Hamiltonian property can be more efficiently checked in this logic than in the previous one. In a third attempt, we extend the basic hybrid logic with the ↓ operator and show that we can check the Hamiltonian property with optimal (NP) complexity in this logic. Finally, we tackle the Eulerian property in two different ways. First, we develop a generic method to express edge-related properties in hybrid logics and use it to express the Eulerian property. Second, we express a necessary and sufficient condition for the Eulerian property to hold using a graded modal logic.

Reasoning about Knowledge and Belief: A Syntactical Treatment

Abstract: The study of formal theories of agents has intensi…ed over the last couple of decades, since such formalisms can be viewed as providing the speci…cations for building rational agents and multi-agent systems. Most of the proposed approaches are based upon the well-understood framework of modal logics and possible world semantics. Although intuitive and expressive, these approaches lack two properties that can be considered important to a rational agent’s reasoning: quanti…cation over the propositional attitudes, and self-referential statements. This paper presents an alternative framework which is di¤erent from those found in the literature in two ways: Firstly, a syntactical approach for the representation of the propositional attitudes is adopted. This involves the use of a truth predicate and syntactic modalities which are de…ned in terms of the truth predicate itself and corresponding modal operators. Secondly, an agent’s information state includes both knowledge and beliefs. Independent modal operators for the two notions are introduced and based on them syntactic modalities are de…ned. Furthermore, the relation between knowledge and belief is thoroughly explored and three di¤erent connection axiomatisations for the modalities and the syntactic modalities are proposed and their properties investigated.