Showing papers on "Undecidable problem published in 2019"

The set of quantum correlations is not closed

Abstract: We construct a linear system nonlocal game which can be played perfectly using a limit of finite-dimensional quantum strategies, but which cannot be played perfectly on any finite-dimensional Hilbert space, or even with any tensor-product strategy. In particular, this shows that the set of (tensor-product) quantum correlations is not closed. The constructed nonlocal game provides another counterexample to the ‘middle’ Tsirelson problem, with a shorter proof than our previous paper (though at the loss of the universal embedding theorem). We also show that it is undecidable to determine if a linear system game can be played perfectly with a finite-dimensional strategy, or a limit of finite-dimensional quantum strategies.

Learnability can be undecidable

Abstract: The mathematical foundations of machine learning play a key role in the development of the field. They improve our understanding and provide tools for designing new learning paradigms. The advantages of mathematics, however, sometimes come with a cost. Godel and Cohen showed, in a nutshell, that not everything is provable. Here we show that machine learning shares this fate. We describe simple scenarios where learnability cannot be proved nor refuted using the standard axioms of mathematics. Our proof is based on the fact the continuum hypothesis cannot be proved nor refuted. We show that, in some cases, a solution to the ‘estimating the maximum’ problem is equivalent to the continuum hypothesis. The main idea is to prove an equivalence between learnability and compression. Not all mathematical questions can be resolved, according to Godel’s famous incompleteness theorems. It turns out that machine learning can be vulnerable to undecidability too, as is illustrated with an example problem where learnability cannot be proved nor refuted.

Tsirelson’s problem and an embedding theorem for groups arising from non-local games

Abstract: Tsirelson's problem asks whether the commuting operator model for two-party quantum correlations is equivalent to the tensor-product model. We give a negative answer to this question by showing that there are non-local games which have perfect commuting-operator strategies, but do not have perfect tensor-product strategies. The weak Tsirelson problem, which is known to be equivalent to Connes embedding problem, remains open. The examples we construct are instances of (binary) linear system games. For such games, previous results state that the existence of perfect strategies is controlled by the solution group of the linear system. Our main result is that every finitely-presented group embeds in some solution group. As an additional consequence, we show that the problem of determining whether a linear system game has a perfect commuting-operator strategy is undecidable.

Definitional proof-irrelevance without K

Abstract: Definitional equality—or conversion—for a type theory with a decidable type checking is the simplest tool to prove that two objects are the same, letting the system decide just using computation. Therefore, the more things are equal by conversion, the simpler it is to use a language based on type theory. Proof-irrelevance, stating that any two proofs of the same proposition are equal, is a possible way to extend conversion to make a type theory more powerful. However, this new power comes at a price if we integrate it naively, either by making type checking undecidable or by realizing new axioms—such as uniqueness of identity proofs (UIP)—that are incompatible with other extensions, such as univalence. In this paper, taking inspiration from homotopy type theory, we propose a general way to extend a type theory with definitional proof irrelevance, in a way that keeps type checking decidable and is compatible with univalence. We provide a new criterion to decide whether a proposition can be eliminated over a type (correcting and improving the so-called singleton elimination of Coq) by using techniques coming from recent development on dependent pattern matching without UIP. We show the generality of our approach by providing implementations for both Coq and Agda, both of which are planned to be integrated in future versions of those proof assistants.

Verification of programs under the release-acquire semantics

Abstract: We address the verification of concurrent programs running under the release-acquire (RA) semantics. We show that the reachability problem is undecidable even in the case where the input program is finite-state. Given this undecidability, we follow the spirit of the work on context-bounded analysis for detecting bugs in programs under the classical SC model, and propose an under-approximate reachability analysis for the case of RA. To this end, we propose a novel notion, called view-switching, and provide a code-to-code translation from an input program under RA to a program under SC. This leads to a reduction, in polynomial time, of the bounded view-switching reachability problem under RA to the bounded context-switching problem under SC. We have implemented a prototype tool VBMC and tested it on a set of benchmarks, demonstrating that many bugs in programs can be found using a small number of view switches.

On the decidability of reachability in linear time-invariant systems

Abstract: We consider the decidability of state-to-state reachability in linear time-invariant control systems over discrete time. We analyse this problem with respect to the allowable control sets, which in general are assumed to be defined by boolean combinations of linear inequalities. Decidability of the version of the reachability problem in which control sets are affine subspaces of Rn is a fundamental result in control theory. Our first result is that reachability is undecidable if the set of controls is a finite union of affine subspaces. We also consider versions of the reachability problem in which (i) the set of controls consists of a single affine subspace together with the origin and (ii) the set of controls is a convex polytope. In these two cases we respectively show that the reachability problem is as hard as Skolem's Problem and the Positivity Problem for linear recurrence sequences (whose decidability has been open for several decades). Our main contribution is to show decidability of a version of the reachability problem in which control sets are convex polytopes, under certain spectral assumptions on the transition matrix.

Chain-Free String Constraints

Abstract: We address the satisfiability problem for string constraints that combine relational constraints represented by transducers, word equations, and string length constraints. This problem is undecidable in general. Therefore, we propose a new decidable fragment of string constraints, called weakly chaining string constraints, for which we show that the satisfiability problem is decidable. This fragment pushes the borders of decidability of string constraints by generalising the existing straight-line as well as the acyclic fragment of the string logic. We have developed a prototype implementation of our new decision procedure, and integrated it into in an existing framework that uses CEGAR with under-approximation of string constraints based on flattening. Our experimental results show the competitiveness and accuracy of the new framework.

Learning Description Logic Concepts: When can Positive and Negative Examples be Separated?.

Abstract: Learning description logic (DL) concepts from positive and negative examples given in the form of labeled data items in a KB has received significant attention in the literature. We study the fundamental question of when a separating DL concept exists and provide useful model-theoretic characterizations as well as complexity results for the associated decision problem. For expressive DLs such as ALC and ALCQI, our characterizations show a surprising link to the evaluation of ontology-mediated conjunctive queries. We exploit this to determine the combined complexity (between ExpTime and NExpTime) and data complexity (second level of the polynomial hierarchy) of separability. For the Horn DL EL, separability is ExpTime-complete both in combined and in data complexity while for its modest extension ELI it is even undecidable. Separability is also undecidable when the KB is formulated in ALC and the separating concept is required to be in EL or ELI.

Formal Verification of Open Multi-Agent Systems

Abstract: We study open multi-agent systems in which countably many agents may leave and join the system at run-time. We introduce a semantics, based on interpreted systems, to capture the openness of the system and show how an indexed variant of temporal-epistemic logic can be used to express specifications on them. We define the verification problem and show it is undecidable. We isolate one decidable class of open multi-agent systems and give a partial decision procedure for another one. We introduce MCMAS-OP, an open-source toolkit implementing the verification procedures. We present the results obtained using our tool on two examples.

Magic: The Gathering is Turing Complete.

Abstract: $\textit{Magic: The Gathering}$ is a popular and famously complicated trading card game about magical combat. In this paper we show that optimal play in real-world $\textit{Magic}$ is at least as hard as the Halting Problem, solving a problem that has been open for a decade. To do this, we present a methodology for embedding an arbitrary Turing machine into a game of $\textit{Magic}$ such that the first player is guaranteed to win the game if and only if the Turing machine halts. Our result applies to how real $\textit{Magic}$ is played, can be achieved using standard-size tournament-legal decks, and does not rely on stochasticity or hidden information. Our result is also highly unusual in that all moves of both players are forced in the construction. This shows that even recognising who will win a game in which neither player has a non-trivial decision to make for the rest of the game is undecidable. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for a unified computational theory of games and remarks about the playability of such a board in a tournament setting.

Decidable Fragments of First-Order Logic and of First-Order Linear Arithmetic with Uninterpreted Predicates

Abstract: First-order logic has a long tradition and is one of the most prominent and most important formalisms in computer science and mathematics. It is well-known that the satisfiability problem for full first-order logic is not solvable algorithmically — we say that first-order logic is undecidable. This fact highlights a fundamental limitation of computing devices in general and of automated reasoning in particular. The classical decision problem, as it is understood today, is the quest for a delineation between the decidable and the undecidable parts of first-order logic based on elegant and computable syntactic criteria. Many researchers have contributed to this endeavor and till today numerous decidable and undecidable fragments of first-order logic have been identified. The present thesis sheds more light on the decidability boundary and aims to open new perspectives on the already known results. In the first part of the present thesis we focus on the syntactic concept of separateness of variables and explore its applicability to the classical decision problem and beyond. Two disjoint sets of first-order variables are separated in a given formula if each atom in that formula contains variables from at most one of the two sets. This simple notion facilitates the definition of decidable extensions of many well-known decidable first-order fragments. We shall demonstrate that for several prefix fragments, several guarded fragments, the two-variable fragment, and for the fluted fragment. Altogether, we will investigate nine such extensions more closely. Interestingly, each of them contains the monadic first-order fragment without equality. Although the extensions exhibit the same expressive power as the respective originals, certain logical properties can be expressed much more succinctly. In at least two cases the succinctness gap cannot be bounded using any elementary function. This observation can be conceived as an indication for computationally hard satisfiability problems associated with the extended fragments. Indeed, we will derive non-elementary lower bounds for an extension of the Bernays–Schonfinkel–Ramsey fragment, called the separated fragment. Furthermore, we shall investigate the effect of separateness of variables at the semantic level, where it may lead to dependences between quantified variables that are weaker than such dependences are in general. Such weak dependences will be studied in the framework of model-checking games. The focus of the second part of the present thesis is on linear arithmetic over the rationals with uninterpreted predicates. Two novel decidable fragments shall be presented, both based on the Bernays–Schonfinkel–Ramsey fragment. On the negative side, we will identify several small fragments of the language for which satisfiability is undecidable.

Learning Description Logic Concepts: When can Positive and Negative Examples be Separated?

Abstract: Learning description logic (DL) concepts from positive and negative examples given in the form of labeled data items in a KB has received significant attention in the literature. We study the fundamental question of when a separating DL concept exists and provide useful model-theoretic characterizations as well as complexity results for the associated decision problem. For expressive DLs such as ALC and ALCQI, our characterizations show a surprising link to the evaluation of ontology-mediated conjunctive queries. We exploit this to determine the combined complexity (between ExpTime and NExpTime) and data complexity (second level of the polynomial hierarchy) of separability. For the Horn DL EL, separability is ExpTime-complete both in combined and in data complexity while for its modest extension ELI it is even undecidable. Separability is also undecidable when the KB is formulated in ALC and the separating concept is required to be in EL or ELI.

Reasoning about Cognitive Trust in Stochastic Multiagent Systems

Abstract: We consider the setting of stochastic multiagent systems modelled as stochastic multiplayer games and formulate an automated verification framework for quantifying and reasoning about agents’ trust. To capture human trust, we work with a cognitive notion of trust defined as a subjective evaluation that agent A makes about agent B’s ability to complete a task, which in turn may lead to a decision by A to rely on B. We propose a probabilistic rational temporal logic PRTLa, which extends the probabilistic computation tree logic PCTLa with reasoning about mental attitudes (beliefs, goals, and intentions) and includes novel operators that can express concepts of social trust such as competence, disposition, and dependence. The logic can express, for example, that “agent A will eventually trust agent B with probability at least p that B will behave in a way that ensures the successful completion of a given task.” We study the complexity of the automated verification problem and, while the general problem is undecidable, we identify restrictions on the logic and the system that result in decidable, or even tractable, subproblems.

Synthesizing Reactive Systems from Hyperproperties

Abstract: We study the reactive synthesis problem for hyperproperties given as formulas of the temporal logic HyperLTL. Hyperproperties generalize trace properties, i.e., sets of traces, to sets of sets of traces. Typical examples are information-flow policies like noninterference, which stipulate that no sensitive data must leak into the public domain. Such properties cannot be expressed in standard linear or branching-time temporal logics like LTL, CTL, or CTL$^*$. We show that, while the synthesis problem is undecidable for full HyperLTL, it remains decidable for the $\exists^*$, $\exists^*\forall^1$, and the $\mathit{linear}\;\forall^*$ fragments. Beyond these fragments, the synthesis problem immediately becomes undecidable. For universal HyperLTL, we present a semi-decision procedure that constructs implementations and counterexamples up to a given bound. We report encouraging experimental results obtained with a prototype implementation on example specifications with hyperproperties like symmetric responses, secrecy, and information-flow.

Eliminating reflection from type theory

Abstract: Type theories with equality reflection, such as extensional type theory (ETT), are convenient theories in which to formalise mathematics, as they make it possible to consider provably equal terms as convertible. Although type-checking is undecidable in this context, variants of ETT have been implemented, for example in NuPRL and more recently in Andromeda. The actual objects that can be checked are not proof-terms, but derivations of proof-terms. This suggests that any derivation of ETT can be translated into a typecheckable proof term of intensional type theory (ITT). However, this result, investigated categorically by Hofmann in 1995, and 10 years later more syntactically by Oury, has never given rise to an effective translation. In this paper, we provide the first effective syntactical translation from ETT to ITT with uniqueness of identity proofs and functional extensionality. This translation has been defined and proven correct in Coq and yields an executable plugin that translates a derivation in ETT into an actual Coq typing judgment. Additionally, we show how this result is extended in the context of homotopy type theory to a two-level type theory.

Multi-agent Knowing How via Multi-step Plans: A Dynamic Epistemic Planning Based Approach.

Abstract: There are currently two approaches to the logic of knowing how: the planning-based one and the coalition-based one. However, the first is single-agent, and the second is based on single-step joint actions. In this paper, to overcome both limitations, we propose a multi-agent framework for the logic of knowing how, based on multi-step dynamic epistemic planning studied in the literature. We obtain a sound and complete axiomatization and show that the logic is decidable, although the corresponding multi-agent epistemic planning problem is undecidable.

The Domino Problem is Undecidable on Surface Groups.

Abstract: We show that the domino problem is undecidable on orbit graphs of non-deterministic substitutions which satisfy a technical property. As an application, we prove that the domino problem is undecidable for the fundamental group of any closed orientable surface of genus at least 2.

Temporally Attributed Description Logics

Abstract: Knowledge graphs are based on graph models enriched with (sets of) attribute-value pairs, called annotations, attached to vertices and edges. Many application scenarios of knowledge graphs crucially rely on the frequent use of annotations related to time. Building upon attributed logics, we design description logics enriched with temporal annotations whose values are interpreted over discrete time. Investigating the complexity of reasoning in this new formalism, it turns out that reasoning in our temporally attributed description logic \(\mathcal {ALCH} ^{\mathbb {T}}_@\) is highly undecidable; thus we establish restrictions where it becomes decidable, and even tractable.

The Logic of Action Lattices is Undecidable

Abstract: We prove algorithmic undecidability of the (in)equational theory of residuated Kleene lattices (action lattices), thus solving a problem left open by D. Kozen, P. Jipsen, W. Buszkowski.

Decidable verification of uninterpreted programs

Abstract: We study the problem of completely automatically verifying uninterpreted programs—programs that work over arbitrary data models that provide an interpretation for the constants, functions and relations the program uses. The verification problem asks whether a given program satisfies a postcondition written using quantifier-free formulas with equality on the final state, with no loop invariants, contracts, etc. being provided. We show that this problem is undecidable in general. The main contribution of this paper is a subclass of programs, called coherent programs that admits decidable verification, and can be decided in Pspace. We then extend this class of programs to classes of programs that are k-coherent, where k ∈ ℕ, obtained by (automatically) adding k ghost variables and assignments that make them coherent. We also extend the decidability result to programs with recursive function calls and prove several undecidability results that show why our restrictions to obtain decidability seem necessary.

Quantitative Automata under Probabilistic Semantics.

Abstract: Automata with monitor counters, where the transitions do not depend on counter values, and nested weighted automata are two expressive automata-theoretic frameworks for quantitative properties. For a well-studied and wide class of quantitative functions, we establish that automata with monitor counters and nested weighted automata are equivalent. We study for the first time such quantitative automata under probabilistic semantics. We show that several problems that are undecidable for the classical questions of emptiness and universality become decidable under the probabilistic semantics. We present a complete picture of decidability for such automata, and even an almost-complete picture of computational complexity, for the probabilistic questions we consider.

Presburger arithmetic with stars, rational subsets of graph groups, and nested zero tests

Abstract: We study the computational complexity of existential Presburger arithmetic with (possibly nested occurrences of) a Kleene-star operator. In addition to being a natural extension of Presburger arithmetic, our investigation is motivated by two other decision problems. The first problem is the rational subset membership problem in graph groups. A graph group is an infinite group specified by a finite undirected graph. While a characterisation of graph groups with a decidable rational subset membership problem was given by Lohrey and Steinberg [J. Algebra, 320(2) (2008)], it has been an open problem (i) whether the decidable fragment has elementary complexity and (ii) what is the complexity for each fixed graph group. The second problem is the reachability problem for integer vector addition systems with states and nested zero tests. We prove that the satisfiability problem for existential Pres-burger arithmetic with stars is NEXP-complete and that all three problems are polynomially inter-reducible. Moreover, we consider for each problem a variant with a fixed parameter: We fix the star-height in the logic, a graph parameter for the membership problem, and the number of distinct zero-tests in the integer vector addition systems. We establish NP-completeness of all problems with fixed parameters. In particular, this enables us to obtain a complete description of the complexity landscape of the rational subset membership problem for fixed graph groups: If the graph is a clique, the problem is N L-complete. If the graph is a disjoint union of cliques, it is P-complete. If it is a transitive forest (and not a union of cliques), the problem is NP-complete. Otherwise, the problem is undecidable.

Structure of Quasivariety Lattices. II. Undecidable Problems

Abstract: Sufficient conditions are specified under which a quasivariety contains continuum many subquasivarieties having an independent quasi-equational basis but for which the quasiequational theory and the finite membership problem are undecidable. A number of applications are presented.

Towards Bit-Width-Independent Proofs in SMT Solvers

Abstract: Many SMT solvers implement efficient SAT-based procedures for solving fixed-size bit-vector formulas. These approaches, however, cannot be used directly to reason about bit-vectors of symbolic bit-width. To address this shortcoming, we propose a translation from bit-vector formulas with parametric bit-width to formulas in a logic supported by SMT solvers that includes non-linear integer arithmetic, uninterpreted functions, and universal quantification. While this logic is undecidable, this approach can still solve many formulas by capitalizing on advances in SMT solving for non-linear arithmetic and universally quantified formulas. We provide several case studies in which we have applied this approach with promising results, including the bit-width independent verification of invertibility conditions, compiler optimizations, and bit-vector rewrites.

Magic: The Gathering is Turing Complete

Abstract: Magic: The Gathering is a popular and famously complicated trading card game about magical combat. In this paper we show that optimal play in real-world Magic is at least as hard as the Halting Problem. This provides a positive answer to the question "is there a real-world game where perfect play is undecidable under the rules in which it is typically played?", a question that has been open for a decade [David Auger and Oliver Teytaud, 2012; Erik D. Demaine and Robert A. Hearn, 2009]. To do this, we present a methodology for embedding an arbitrary Turing machine into a game of Magic such that the first player is guaranteed to win the game if and only if the Turing machine halts. Our result applies to how real Magic is played, can be achieved using standard-size tournament-legal decks, and does not rely on stochasticity or hidden information. Our result is also highly unusual in that all moves of both players are forced in the construction. This shows that even recognising who will win a game in which neither player has a non-trivial decision to make for the rest of the game is undecidable. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for a unified computational theory of games and remarks about the playability of such a board in a tournament setting.

The Science, Art, and Magic of Constrained Horn Clauses

Abstract: Constrained Horn Clauses (CHC) is a fragment of First Order Logic modulo constraints that captures many program verification problems as constraint solving. Safety verification of sequential programs, modular verification of concurrent programs, parametric verification, and modular verification of synchronous transition systems are all naturally captured as a satisfiability problem for CHC modulo theories of arithmetic and arrays. In general, the satisfiability of CHC modulo theory of arithmetic is undecidable. Thus, solving them is a mix of science, art, and a dash of magic. In this tutorial, we explore several aspects of this problem. First, we illustrate how different problems are translated to CHC. Second, we present a framework, called Spacer, that reduces symbolically solving Horn clauses to multiple simpler Satisfiability Modulo Theories, SMT, queries. Third, we describe advances in SMT that are necessary to make the framework a reality.

Propositional Modal Logic with Implicit Modal Quantification

Abstract: Propositional term modal logic is interpreted over Kripke structures with unboundedly many accessibility relations and hence the syntax admits variables indexing modalities and quantification over them. This logic is undecidable, and we consider a variable-free propositional bi-modal logic with implicit quantification. Thus \([\forall ]\alpha \) asserts necessity over all accessibility relations and \([\exists ]\alpha \) is classical necessity over some accessibility relation. The logic is associated with a natural bisimulation relation over models and we show that the logic is exactly the bisimulation invariant fragment of a two sorted first order logic. The logic is easily seen to be decidable and admits a complete axiomatization of valid formulas. Moreover the decision procedure extends naturally to the ‘bundled fragment’ of full term modal logic.

Register-Bounded Synthesis

Abstract: Traditional synthesis algorithms return, given a specification over finite sets of input and output Boolean variables, a finite-state transducer all whose computations satisfy the specification. Many real-life systems have an infinite state space. In particular, behaviors of systems with a finite control yet variables that range over infinite domains, are specified by automata with infinite alphabets. A register automaton has a finite set of registers, and its transitions are based on a comparison of the letters in the input with these stored in its registers. Unfortunately, reasoning about register automata is complex. In particular, the synthesis problem for specifications given by register automata, where the goal is to generate correct register transducers, is undecidable. We study the synthesis problem for systems with a bounded number of registers. Formally, the register-bounded realizability problem is to decide, given a specification register automaton A over infinite input and output alphabets and numbers k_s and k_e of registers, whether there is a system transducer T with at most k_s registers such that for all environment transducers T' with at most k_e registers, the computation T|T', generated by the interaction of T with T', satisfies the specification A. The register-bounded synthesis problem is to construct such a transducer T, if exists. The bounded setting captures better real-life scenarios where bounds on the systems and/or its environment are known. In addition, the bounds are the key to new synthesis algorithms, and, as recently shown in [A. Khalimov et al., 2018], they lead to decidability. Our contributions include a stronger specification formalism (universal register parity automata), simpler algorithms, which enable a clean complexity analysis, a study of settings in which both the system and the environment are bounded, and a study of the theoretical aspects of the setting; in particular, the differences among a fixed, finite, and infinite number of registers, and the determinacy of the corresponding games.