arXiv subjects

Isa Vialard

Publications and source records attributed to Isa Vialard.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Population Protocols over Ordered Agents

Population protocols are a distributed computation model in which a collection of anonymous, finite-state agents interact in randomly chosen pairs and update their states according to a fixed transition function. The computation is defined by the eventual stabilization of the population to a consensus that represents the output. In practice, it is natural to allow each agent to carry a unique identifier and compare it with that of another agent before interacting. We model this extension by having agents be totally ordered and interactions between two agents to be fireable only if their pair of identifiers falls in some condition set. For instance, $\mathsf{PP}[<]$ allows for two agents to interact only if the first one appears before the second one. We study population protocols over ordered agents $\mathsf{PP}[N]$ where $N$ is a set of predicates available to restrict transition firing. We also study $\textsf{IO-PP}[N]$, the immediate observation fragment of $\mathsf{PP}[N]$ where only one agent changes state per interaction. Our main result is that $\textsf{IO-PP}[<]$ recognizes exactly the unambiguous star-free languages, which admits many other characterizations, such as two-variable first-order logic or two-way deterministic partially-ordered automata. We also provide a logic and an automaton model that fits in $\mathsf{PP}[<]$. We further show that if the successor predicate appears in a set $N$ of $\mathsf{NSPACE}(n)$-computable predicates, then $\textsf{IO-PP}[N]=\mathsf{PP}[N]=\mathsf{NSPACE}(n)$. Finally, we investigate the problem of deciding whether a given population protocol always stabilizes to a consensus. While this problem is decidable for unordered population protocols, we show that this is undecidable already for $\mathsf{PP}[<]$ and $\textsf{IO-PP}[+1]$, but conditionally decidable for $\textsf{IO-PP}[<]$.

cs.DC↗

arXiv2025

Temporal Properties of Conditional Independence in Dynamic Bayesian Networks

Dynamic Bayesian networks (DBNs) are compact graphical representations used to model probabilistic systems where interdependent random variables and their distributions evolve over time. In this paper, we study the verification of the evolution of conditional-independence (CI) propositions against temporal logic specifications. To this end, we consider two specification formalisms over CI propositions: linear temporal logic (LTL), and non-deterministic B\"uchi automata (NBAs). This problem has two variants. Stochastic CI properties take the given concrete probability distributions into account, while structural CI properties are viewed purely in terms of the graphical structure of the DBN. We show that deciding if a stochastic CI proposition eventually holds is at least as hard as the Skolem problem for linear recurrence sequences, a long-standing open problem in number theory. On the other hand, we show that verifying the evolution of structural CI propositions against LTL and NBA specifications is in PSPACE, and is NP- and coNP-hard. We also identify natural restrictions on the graphical structure of DBNs that make the verification of structural CI properties tractable.

cs.AI↗

arXiv2025

Deciding the Value of Two-Clock Almost Non-Zeno Weighted Timed Games

The Value Problem for weighted timed games (wtgs) consists in determining, given a two-player weighted timed game with a reachability objective and a rational threshold, whether or not the value of the game exceeds the threshold. When restrained to wtgs with non-negative weight, this problem is known to be undecidable for weighted timed games with three or more clocks, and decidable for one-clock wtgs. The Value Problem for two-clock non-negative wtgs, which remained stubbornly open for a decade, was recently shown to be undecidable. In this article, we show that the Value Problem is decidable when considering two-clock almost non-Zeno wtgs.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2025

The Value Problem for Weighted Timed Games with Two Clocks is Undecidable

The Value Problem for weighted timed games (WTGs) consists in determining, given a two-player weighted timed game with a reachability objective and a rational threshold, whether or not the value of the game exceeds the threshold. This problem was shown to be undecidable some ten years ago for WTGs making use of at least three clocks, and is known to be decidable for single-clock WTGs. In this paper, we establish undecidability for two-clock WTGs making use of non-negative weights, even in a time-bounded setting, closing the last remaining major gap in our algorithmic understanding of WTGs.

cs.GT↗

arXiv2024

On the piecewise complexity of words

The piecewise complexity $h(u)$ of a word is the minimal length of subwords needed to exactly characterise $u$. Its piecewise minimality index $\rho(u)$ is the smallest length $k$ such that $u$ is minimal among its order-$k$ class $[u]_k$ in Simon's congruence. We initiate a study of these two descriptive complexity measures. Among other results we provide efficient algorithms for computing $h(u)$ and $\rho(u)$ for a given word $u$.

cs.FL↗

arXiv2024

On maximal order type of the lexicographic product

In the previously submitted version of this paper, available here for the record, we stated the following : "We give a self-contained proof of Isa Vialard's formula for $o(P\cdot Q)$ where $P$ and $Q$ are wpos. The proof introduces the notion of a cut of partial order, which might be of independent interest." In fact, the argument presented in the paper is wrong and Vialard formula has no known proof. I will try to prove the formula $o(P\cdot Q)=o(P)\cdot o(Q)$ from the [DzSS] paper because I believe that Altman's purported counter-example mentioned in the preprint is incorrect. This statement is written by Mirna D\v{z}amonja without consultation with Isa Vialard, who may hold different views. Mirna D\v{z}amonja has withdrawn her authorship from the conditionally accepted version of this note (IGPL) on January 20, 2025

math.LO↗

arXiv2023

Measuring well quasi-ordered finitary powersets

The complexity of a well-quasi-order (wqo) can be measured through three ordinal invariants: the width as a measure of antichains, height as a measure of chains, and maximal order type as a measure of bad sequences. We study these ordinal invariants for the finitary powerset, i.e., the collection Pf(A) of finite subsets of a wqo A ordered with the Hoare embedding relation. We show that the invariants of Pf(A) cannot be expressed as a function of the invariants of A, and provide tight upper and lower bounds for them. We then focus on a family of well-behaved wqos, for which these invariants can be computed compositionally, using a newly defined ordinal invariant called the approximate maximal order type. This family is built from multiplicatively indecomposable ordinals, using classical operations such as disjoint unions, products, finite words, finite multisets, and the finitary powerset construction.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2023

On the piecewise complexity of words and periodic words

The piecewise complexity $h(u)$ of a word is the minimal length of subwords needed to exactly characterise $u$. Its piecewise minimality index $\rho(u)$ is the smallest length $k$ such that $u$ is minimal among its order-$k$ class $[u]_k$ in Simon's congruence. We study these two measures and provide efficient algorithms for computing $h(u)$ and $\rho(u)$. We also provide efficient algorithms for the case where $u$ is a periodic word, of the form $u=v^n$

cs.FL↗

arXiv2023

Ordinal measures of the set of finite multisets

Well-partial orders, and the ordinal invariants used to measure them, are relevant in set theory, program verification, proof theory and many other areas of computer science and mathematics. In this article we focus on one of the most common data structure in programming, the finite multiset of some wpo. There are two natural orders one can define on the set of finite multisets $M(X)$ of a partial order $X$: the multiset embedding and the multiset ordering, for which $M(X)$ remains a wpo when $X$ is. Though the maximal order type of these orders is already known, the other ordinal invariants remain mostly unknown. Our main contributions are expressions to compute compositionally the width of the multiset embedding and the height of the multiset ordering. Furthermore, we provide a new ordinal invariant useful for characterizing the width of the multiset ordering.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2022

On the cartesian product of well-orderings

The width of a well partial ordering (wpo) is the ordinal rank of the set of its antichains ordered by inclusion. We compute the width of wpos obtained as cartesian products of finitely many well-orderings.

cs.LO↗