arXiv subjects

Luca Bortolussi

Publications and source records attributed to Luca Bortolussi.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

CARMA: Collective Adaptive Resource-sharing Markovian Agents

In this paper we present CARMA, a language recently defined to support specification and analysis of collective adaptive systems. CARMA is a stochastic process algebra equipped with linguistic constructs specifically developed for modelling and programming systems that can operate in open-ended and unpredictable environments. This class of systems is typically composed of a huge number of interacting agents that dynamically adjust and combine their behaviour to achieve specific goals. A CARMA model, termed a collective, consists of a set of components, each of which exhibits a set of attributes. To model dynamic aggregations, which are sometimes referred to as ensembles, CARMA provides communication primitives that are based on predicates over the exhibited attributes. These predicates are used to select the participants in a communication. Two communication mechanisms are provided in the CARMA language: multicast-based and unicast-based. In this paper, we first introduce the basic principles of CARMA and then we show how our language can be used to support specification with a simple but illustrative example of a socio-technical collective adaptive system.

cs.PL↗

arXiv2015

Efficient Checking of Individual Rewards Properties in Markov Population Models

In recent years fluid approaches to the analysis of Markov populations models have been demonstrated to have great pragmatic value. Initially developed to estimate the behaviour of the system in terms of the expected values of population counts, the fluid approach has subsequently been extended to more sophisticated interrogations of models through its embedding within model checking procedures. In this paper we extend recent work on checking CSL properties of individual agents within a Markovian population model, to consider the checking of properties which incorporate rewards.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2015

Fluid Model Checking of Timed Properties

We address the problem of verifying timed properties of Markovian models of large populations of interacting agents, modelled as finite state automata. In particular, we focus on time-bounded properties of (random) individual agents specified by Deterministic Timed Automata (DTA) endowed with a single clock. Exploiting ideas from fluid approximation, we estimate the satisfaction probability of the DTA properties by reducing it to the computation of the transient probability of a subclass of Time-Inhomogeneous Markov Renewal Processes with exponentially and deterministically-timed transitions, and a small state space. For this subclass of models, we show how to derive a set of Delay Differential Equations (DDE), whose numerical solution provides a fast and accurate estimate of the satisfaction probability. In the paper, we also prove the asymptotic convergence of the approach, and exemplify the method on a simple epidemic spreading model. Finally, we also show how to construct a system of DDEs to efficiently approximate the average number of agents that satisfy the DTA specification.

cs.FL↗

arXiv2015

Learning and Designing Stochastic Processes from Logical Constraints

Stochastic processes offer a flexible mathematical formalism to model and reason about systems. Most analysis tools, however, start from the premises that models are fully specified, so that any parameters controlling the system's dynamics must be known exactly. As this is seldom the case, many methods have been devised over the last decade to infer (learn) such parameters from observations of the state of the system. In this paper, we depart from this approach by assuming that our observations are {\it qualitative} properties encoded as satisfaction of linear temporal logic formulae, as opposed to quantitative observations of the state of the system. An important feature of this approach is that it unifies naturally the system identification and the system design problems, where the properties, instead of observations, represent requirements to be satisfied. We develop a principled statistical estimation procedure based on maximising the likelihood of the system's parameters, using recent ideas from statistical machine learning. We demonstrate the efficacy and broad applicability of our method on a range of simple but non-trivial examples, including rumour spreading in social networks and hybrid models of gene regulation.

eess.SY↗

arXiv2014

Stochastic HYPE: Flow-based modelling of stochastic hybrid systems

Stochastic HYPE is a novel process algebra that models stochastic, instantaneous and continuous behaviour. It develops the flow-based approach of the hybrid process algebra HYPE by replacing non-urgent events with events with exponentially-distributed durations and also introduces random resets. The random resets allow for general stochasticity, and in particular allow for the use of event durations drawn from distributions other than the exponential distribution. To account for stochasticity, the semantics of stochastic HYPE target piecewise deterministic Markov processes (PDMPs), via intermediate transition-driven stochastic hybrid automata (TDSHA) in contrast to the hybrid automata used as semantic target for HYPE. Stochastic HYPE models have a specific structure where the controller of a system is separate from the continuous aspect of this system providing separation of concerns and supporting reasoning. A novel equivalence is defined which captures when two models have the same stochastic behaviour (as in stochastic bisimulation), instantaneous behaviour (as in classical bisimulation) and continuous behaviour. These techniques are illustrated via an assembly line example.

eess.SY↗

arXiv2014

Smoothed Model Checking for Uncertain Continuous Time Markov Chains

We consider the problem of computing the satisfaction probability of a formula for stochastic models with parametric uncertainty. We show that this satisfaction probability is a smooth function of the model parameters. This enables us to devise a novel Bayesian statistical algorithm which performs statistical model checking simultaneously for all values of the model parameters from observations of truth values of the formula over individual runs of the model at isolated parameter values. This is achieved by exploiting the smoothness of the satisfaction function: by modelling explicitly correlations through a prior distribution over a space of smooth functions (a Gaussian Process), we can condition on observations at individual parameter values to construct an analytical approximation of the function itself. Extensive experiments on non-trivial case studies show that the approach is accurate and several orders of magnitude faster than naive parameter exploration with standard statistical model checking methods.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2014

Proceedings Twelfth International Workshop on Quantitative Aspects of Programming Languages and Systems

This volume contains the proceedings of the Twelfth Workshop on Quantitative Aspects of Programming Languages and Systems (QAPL 2014), held in Grenoble, France, on 12 and 13 April, 2014. QAPL 2014 was a satellite event of the European Joint Conferences on Theory and Practice of Software (ETAPS). The central theme of the workshop is that of quantitative aspects of computation. These aspects are related to the use of physical quantities (storage space, time, bandwidth, etc.) as well as mathematical quantities (e.g. probability and measures for reliability, security and trust), and play an important (sometimes essential) role in characterising the behaviour and determining the properties of systems. Such quantities are central to the definition of both the model of systems (architecture, language design, semantics) and the methodologies and tools for the analysis and verification of the systems properties. The aim of this workshop is to discuss the explicit use of quantitative information such as time and probabilities either directly in the model or as a tool for the analysis of systems.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2014

Mean-Field approximation and Quasi-Equilibrium reduction of Markov Population Models

Markov Population Model is a commonly used framework to describe stochastic systems. Their exact analysis is unfeasible in most cases because of the state space explosion. Approximations are usually sought, often with the goal of reducing the number of variables. Among them, the mean field limit and the quasi-equilibrium approximations stand out. We view them as techniques that are rooted in independent basic principles. At the basis of the mean field limit is the law of large numbers. The principle of the quasi-equilibrium reduction is the separation of temporal scales. It is common practice to apply both limits to an MPM yielding a fully reduced model. Although the two limits should be viewed as completely independent options, they are applied almost invariably in a fixed sequence: MF limit first, QE-reduction second. We present a framework that makes explicit the distinction of the two reductions, and allows an arbitrary order of their application. By inverting the sequence, we show that the double limit does not commute in general: the mean field limit of a time-scale reduced model is not the same as the time-scale reduced limit of a mean field model. An example is provided to demonstrate this phenomenon. Sufficient conditions for the two operations to be freely exchangeable are also provided.

eess.SY↗

arXiv2013

Learning Temporal Logical Properties Discriminating ECG models of Cardiac Arrhytmias

We present a novel approach to learn the formulae characterising the emergent behaviour of a dynamical system from system observations. At a high level, the approach starts by devising a statistical dynamical model of the system which optimally fits the observations. We then propose general optimisation strategies for selecting high support formulae (under the learnt model of the system) either within a discrete set of formulae of bounded complexity, or a parametric family of formulae. We illustrate and apply the methodology on an in-depth case study of characterising cardiac malfunction from electro-cardiogram data, where our approach enables us to quantitatively determine the diagnostic power of a formula in discriminating between different cardiac conditions.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2013

On the Robustness of Temporal Properties for Stochastic Models

Stochastic models such as Continuous-Time Markov Chains (CTMC) and Stochastic Hybrid Automata (SHA) are powerful formalisms to model and to reason about the dynamics of biological systems, due to their ability to capture the stochasticity inherent in biological processes. A classical question in formal modelling with clear relevance to biological modelling is the model checking problem. i.e. calculate the probability that a behaviour, expressed for instance in terms of a certain temporal logic formula, may occur in a given stochastic process. However, one may not only be interested in the notion of satisfiability, but also in the capacity of a system to mantain a particular emergent behaviour unaffected by the perturbations, caused e.g. from extrinsic noise, or by possible small changes in the model parameters. To address this issue, researchers from the verification community have recently proposed several notions of robustness for temporal logic providing suitable definitions of distance between a trajectory of a (deterministic) dynamical system and the boundaries of the set of trajectories satisfying the property of interest. The contributions of this paper are twofold. First, we extend the notion of robustness to stochastic systems, showing that this naturally leads to a distribution of robustness scores. By discussing two examples, we show how to approximate the distribution of the robustness score and its key indicators: the average robustness and the conditional average robustness. Secondly, we show how to combine these indicators with the satisfaction probability to address the system design problem, where the goal is to optimize some control parameters of a stochastic model in order to best maximize robustness of the desired specifications.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2013

Proceedings Third International Workshop on Hybrid Autonomous Systems

The interest on autonomous systems is increasing both in industry and academia. Such systems must operate with limited human intervention in a changing environment and must be able to compensate for significant system failures without external intervention. The most appropriate models of autonomous systems can be found in the class of hybrid systems (which study continuous-state dynamic processes via discrete-state controllers) that interact with their environment. This workshop brings together researchers interested in all aspects of autonomy and resilience of hybrid systems.

eess.SY↗

arXiv2013

Proceedings 11th International Workshop on Quantitative Aspects of Programming Languages and Systems

Quantitative aspects of computation are important and sometimes essential in characterising the behavior and determining the properties of systems. They are related to the use of physical quantities (storage space, time, bandwidth, etc.) as well as mathematical quantities (e.g. probability and measures for reliability, security and trust). Such quantities play a central role in defining both the model of systems (architecture, language design, semantics) and the methodologies and tools for the analysis and verification of system properties. The aim of this workshop is to discuss the explicit use of quantitative information such as time and probabilities either directly in the model or as a tool for the analysis of systems.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2013

A temporal logic approach to modular design of synthetic biological circuits

We present a new approach for the design of a synthetic biological circuit whose behaviour is specified in terms of signal temporal logic (STL) formulae. We first show how to characterise with STL formulae the input/output behaviour of biological modules miming the classical logical gates (AND, NOT, OR). Hence, we provide the regions of the parameter space for which these specifications are satisfied. Given a STL specification of the target circuit to be designed and the networks of its constituent components, we propose a methodology to constrain the behaviour of each module, then identifying the subset of the parameter space in which those constraints are satisfied, providing also a measure of the robustness for the target circuit design. This approach, which leverages recent results on the quantitative semantics of Signal Temporal Logic, is illustrated by synthesising a biological implementation of an half-adder.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2013

Fluid Model Checking

In this paper we investigate a potential use of fluid approximation techniques in the context of stochastic model checking of CSL formulae. We focus on properties describing the behaviour of a single agent in a (large) population of agents, exploiting a limit result known also as fast simulation. In particular, we will approximate the behaviour of a single agent with a time-inhomogeneous CTMC which depends on the environment and on the other agents only through the solution of the fluid differential equation. We will prove the asymptotic correctness of our approach in terms of satisfiability of CSL formulae and of reachability probabilities. We will also present a procedure to model check time-inhomogeneous CTMC against CSL formulae.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2013

Hybrid Behaviour of Markov Population Models

We investigate the behaviour of population models written in Stochastic Concurrent Constraint Programming (sCCP), a stochastic extension of Concurrent Constraint Programming. In particular, we focus on models from which we can define a semantics of sCCP both in terms of Continuous Time Markov Chains (CTMC) and in terms of Stochastic Hybrid Systems, in which some populations are approximated continuously, while others are kept discrete. We will prove the correctness of the hybrid semantics from the point of view of the limiting behaviour of a sequence of models for increasing population size. More specifically, we prove that, under suitable regularity conditions, the sequence of CTMC constructed from sCCP programs for increasing population size converges to the hybrid system constructed by means of the hybrid semantics. We investigate in particular what happens for sCCP models in which some transitions are guarded by boolean predicates or in the presence of instantaneous transitions.

eess.SY↗

arXiv2012

Proceedings First International Workshop on Hybrid Systems and Biology

This volume contains the proceedings of the First International Workshop on Hybrid Systems and Biology (HSB 2012), that will be held in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, on the 3rd September, 2012. HSB 2012 is a satellite event of the 23rd International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2012). This workshop aims at collecting scientists working in the area of hybrid modeling applied to systems biology, in order to discuss about current achieved goals, current challenges and future possible developments.

cs.CE↗

arXiv2012

Hybrid performance modelling of opportunistic networks

We demonstrate the modelling of opportunistic networks using the process algebra stochastic HYPE. Network traffic is modelled as continuous flows, contact between nodes in the network is modelled stochastically, and instantaneous decisions are modelled as discrete events. Our model describes a network of stationary video sensors with a mobile ferry which collects data from the sensors and delivers it to the base station. We consider different mobility models and different buffer sizes for the ferries. This case study illustrates the flexibility and expressive power of stochastic HYPE. We also discuss the software that enables us to describe stochastic HYPE models and simulate them.

eess.SY↗

arXiv2011

Programmable models of growth and mutation of cancer-cell populations

In this paper we propose a systematic approach to construct mathematical models describing populations of cancer-cells at different stages of disease development. The methodology we propose is based on stochastic Concurrent Constraint Programming, a flexible stochastic modelling language. The methodology is tested on (and partially motivated by) the study of prostate cancer. In particular, we prove how our method is suitable to systematically reconstruct different mathematical models of prostate cancer growth - together with interactions with different kinds of hormone therapy - at different levels of refinement.

cs.CE↗