arXiv subjects

Rob van Glabbeek

Publications and source records attributed to Rob van Glabbeek.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

The Similarity Control Problem with Required Events

In order to guarantee that a supervised system satisfies safety requirements of the specification, as well as requirements saying that in certain states certain events must be enabled, this paper introduces required events for discrete event systems and reconsiders the similarity control problem while taking all requirements from the specification into account. The notion of a covariant-contravariant simulation, which is finer than the conventional notion of simulation, is adopted to act as the behavioral relation of supervisory control theory. A necessary and sufficient condition for the solvability of this problem is established and a method for synthesizing a maximally permissive supervisor is provided.

cs.FL↗

arXiv2026

The Infinite, in Finite Time

Linear-time temporal properties, such as those described by Linear-time Temporal Logic, are typically modelled as sets of infinite traces. Yet, in a run-time verification context, such as when testing or monitoring a system, only a finite prefix of the system's behaviour can be observed. For some properties, these finite prefixes may be definitive---a yes or no answer can be given without further observation. By enriching the semantics of LTL with these definitive prefixes, we give a proper inductive accounting of the semantics of LTL$_3$, a multi-valued variant of Linear-time Temporal Logic for run-time verification applications. The semantic descriptions of LTL$_3$ in previous work are given only in terms of their relationship to conventional LTL. We show that the semantics of LTL and of LTL$_3$ are isomorphic. In addition, we formalise the formula progression evaluation technique, popularly used in runtime verification contexts, and show its soundness and completeness up to finite traces with respect to our semantics. Then, we turn to linear-time properties more generally: using our theory of definitive prefixes, we re-prove the well-known safety-liveness decomposition theorem, and reconstruct the topology of infinite traces. We define monitorability for properties, providing neat topological characterisations for various monitorability classes, and arrange them into a hierarchy. All of our definitions and proofs are mechanised in Isabelle/HOL.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2026

Bisimulations and Modal Logics for Higher Dimensional Automata

Higher-Dimensional Automata (HDAs) provide a geometric model of true concurrency. While hereditary history-preserving (hhp) bisimilarity is the finest behavioural equivalence in van Glabbeek's spectrum, no modal logic has previously characterised it on HDAs. We introduce several new intermediate equivalences that sit strictly between ST- and hhp-bisimilarity. We show how separating similarity and subsumption of paths leads to a clean formulation of these equivalences, and we present a modal logic that characterises hhp-bisimilarity. Natural fragments characterise ST-bisimilarity and the intermediate notions.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2026

On the Notions of Bounded Bypass, and How to Make any Deadlock-Free MUTEX Protocol Satisfy One of Them

In the literature on mutual exclusion, bounded bypass has been used for a long time as a strengthening of starvation-freedom, but, to the best of our knowledge, it still lacks a satisfying definition as a liveness property on its own. Moreover, we have encountered MUTEX protocols for which this notion needs to be slightly weakened in order to be met. To solve these issues, we first provide a formal definition of bounded bypass (that also corrects a previous definition from Raynal) and then introduce the notions of post-doorway and intermittent bounded bypass, two liveness properties that lie between starvation-freedom and bounded bypass. Essentially, intermittent bounded bypass weakens bounded bypass by ignoring the possible bypasses that may happen during the execution of a certain finite set of write operations to shared registers. Orthogonally, post-doorway bounded bypass ignores the bypasses that may happen during a finite initial phase of the lock protocol. Furthermore, we study an algorithm proposed by Yoah Bar-David in 1998 to enhance the liveness properties of any deadlock-free MUTEX protocol and prove that: (1) in the setting of atomic registers, this algorithm upgrades any deadlock-free mutual exclusion protocol to a bounded bypass one, with a bound that is quadratic in the number of processes; and (2) in the setting of safe and regular registers, the very same algorithm ensures the intermittent version of bounded bypass, still with a quadratic (but slightly different) bound. Finally, we provide logical formulae for the different notions of bounded bypass defined in this paper and use them to confirm all claims made here, by using model checking. This had a positive impact on the theoretical development of the work, since it allowed us to identify and correct small mistakes/ambiguities in definitions and proofs.

cs.DC↗

arXiv2026

Formally Verified Liveness with Multiparty Session Types in Rocq

Multiparty session types (MPST) offer a framework for the description of communication-based protocols involving multiple participants. In the top-down approach to MPST, the communication pattern of the session is described using a global type. Then the global type is projected on to a local type for each participant, and the individual processes making up the session are type-checked against these projections. Typed sessions possess certain desirable properties such as safety, deadlock-freedom and liveness. In this work, we present the first mechanised proof of liveness for synchronous multiparty session types in the Rocq Proof Assistant. Building on recent work, we represent global and local types as coinductive trees using the paco library. We use a coinductively defined subtyping relation on local types together with another coinductively defined plain-merge projection relation relating local and global types. We then associate collections of local types, or local type contexts, with global types using this projection and subtyping relations, and prove an operational correspondence between a local type context and its associated global type. We utilise this association relation to prove the safety and liveness of associated local type contexts and, consequently, the multiparty sessions typed by these contexts. Besides clarifying the often informal proofs found in the MPST literature, our Rocq mechanisation also enables the certification of liveness properties of communication protocols. Our contribution amounts to around 14K lines of Rocq code, available at https://github.com/omerskeskin/mpstlive .

cs.LO↗

arXiv2026

Just Verification of Mutual Exclusion Algorithms with (Non-)Blocking and (Non-)Atomic Registers

We verify the correctness of a variety of mutual exclusion algorithms through model checking. We look at algorithms where communication is via shared read/write registers, where those registers can be atomic or non-atomic. For the verification of liveness properties, it is necessary to assume a completeness criterion to eliminate spurious counterexamples. We use justness as completeness criterion. Justness depends on a concurrency relation; we consider several such relations, modelling different assumptions on the working of the shared registers. We present executions demonstrating the violation of correctness properties by several algorithms, and in some cases suggest improvements.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2025

Unique Solutions of Guarded Recursive Equations

This paper shows that guarded systems of recursive equations have unique solutions up to strong bisimilarity for any process algebra with a structural operation semantics in the ready simulation format. A similar result holds for simulation equivalence, for ready simulation equivalence and for the (ready) simulation preorder. As a consequence, these equivalences and preorders are full (pre)congruences for guarded recursion. Moreover, the unique-solutions result yields a sound and ground-complete axiomatisation of strong bisimilarity for any finitary GSOS language.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2025

Formal Methods for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks: A Survey

In a mobile ad hoc network (MANET), communication is wireless and nodes can move independently. Properly analyzing the functional correctness, performance, and security of MANET protocols is a challenging task. A wide range of formal specification and analysis techniques have been employed in the analysis of MANET protocols. This survey presents an overview of rigorous formal analysis techniques and their applications, with a focus on MANET routing protocols. Next to functional correctness, also real-time properties and security are considered. Moreover, an overview is given of formal frameworks that target MANETs specifically, as well as mobility models that underlie performance analyses of MANET protocols. The aim is to give a comprehensive and coherent overview of this rather scattered field, in which a variety of rigorous formal methods have been applied to analyze different aspects of a wide range of MANET protocols.

cs.NI↗

arXiv2025

Just Verification of Mutual Exclusion Algorithms

cs.LO↗

arXiv2025

More on Maximally Permissive Similarity Control of Discrete Event Systems

Takai proposed a method for constructing a maximally permissive supervisor for the similarity control problem (IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, 66(7):3197-3204, 2021). This paper points out that this construction does not(necessarily) work when the specification is not image-finite. Inspired by Takai's construction, the notion of a (saturated) (G, R)-automaton is introduced and metatheorems concerning (maximally permissive) supervisors for the similarity control problem are provided in terms of this notion. As an application of these metatheorems, the flaws in Takai's work are corrected.

cs.FL↗

arXiv2025

Stronger Validity Criteria for Encoding Synchrony

We analyse two translations from the synchronous into the asynchronous $π$-calculus, both without choice, that are often quoted as standard examples of valid encodings, showing that the asynchronous $π$-calculus is just as expressive as the synchronous one. We examine which of the quality criteria for encodings from the literature support the validity of these translations. Moreover, we prove their validity according to much stronger criteria than considered previously in the literature.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2025

A Complete Axiomatization of Branching Bisimilarity for a Simple Process Language with Probabilistic Choice

This paper proposes a notion of branching bisimilarity for non-deterministic probabilistic processes. In order to characterize the corresponding notion of rooted branching probabilistic bisimilarity, an equational theory is proposed for a basic, recursion-free process language with non-deterministic as well as probabilistic choice. The proof of completeness of the axiomatization builds on the completeness of strong probabilistic bisimilarity on the one hand and on the notion of a concrete process, i.e. a process that does not display (partially) inert $τ$-moves, on the other hand. The approach is first presented for the non-deterministic fragment of the calculus and next generalized to incorporate probabilistic choice, too.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2024

Semantics for Linear-time Temporal Logic with Finite Observations

LTL3 is a multi-valued variant of Linear-time Temporal Logic for runtime verification applications. The semantic descriptions of LTL3 in previous work are given only in terms of the relationship to conventional LTL. Our approach, by contrast, gives a full model-based inductive accounting of the semantics of LTL3, in terms of families of definitive prefix sets. We show that our definitive prefix sets are isomorphic to linear-time temporal properties (sets of infinite traces), and thereby show that our semantics of LTL3 directly correspond to the semantics of conventional LTL. In addition, we formalise the formula progression evaluation technique, popularly used in runtime verification and testing contexts, and show its soundness and completeness up to finite traces with respect to our semantics. All of our definitions and proofs are mechanised in Isabelle/HOL.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2024

Concrete Branching Bisimilarity for Processes with Time-outs

This paper provides an adaptation of branching bisimilarity to reactive systems with time-outs that does not enable eliding of time-out transitions. Multiple equivalent definitions are procured, along with a modal characterisation and a proof of its congruence property for a standard process algebra with recursion. The last section presents a complete axiomatisation for guarded processes without infinite sequences of unobservable actions.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2024

Branching Bisimilarity for Processes with Time-outs

This paper provides an adaptation of branching bisimilarity to reactive systems with time-outs. Multiple equivalent definitions are procured, along with a modal characterisation and a proof of its congruence property for a standard process algebra with recursion. The last section presents a complete axiomatisation for guarded processes without infinite sequences of unobservable actions.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2023

A Cancellation Law for Probabilistic Processes

We show a cancellation property for probabilistic choice. If distributions mu + rho and nu + rho are branching probabilistic bisimilar, then distributions mu and nu are also branching probabilistic bisimilar. We do this in the setting of a basic process language involving non-deterministic and probabilistic choice and define branching probabilistic bisimilarity on distributions. Despite the fact that the cancellation property is very elegant and concise, we failed to provide a short and natural combinatorial proof. Instead we provide a proof using metric topology. Our major lemma is that every distribution can be unfolded into an equivalent stable distribution, where the topological arguments are required to deal with uncountable branching.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2023

A Lean-Congruence Format for EP-Bisimilarity

Enabling preserving bisimilarity is a refinement of strong bisimilarity that preserves safety as well as liveness properties. To define it properly, labelled transition systems needed to be upgraded with a successor relation, capturing concurrency between transitions enabled in the same state. We enrich the well-known De Simone format to handle inductive definitions of this successor relation. We then establish that ep-bisimilarity is a congruence for the operators, as well as lean congruence for recursion, for all (enriched) De Simone languages.

cs.LO↗

arXiv2023

A Lean-Congruence Format for EP-Bisimilarity

Enabling preserving bisimilarity is a refinement of strong bisimilarity, which preserves safety as well as liveness properties. To define it properly, labelled transition systems needed to be upgraded with a successor relation, capturing concurrency between transitions enabled in the same state. We enrich the well-known De Simone format to handle inductive definitions of this successor relation. We then establish that ep-bisimilarity is a congruence for the operators, as well as lean congruence for recursion, for all (enriched) De Simone languages.

cs.LO↗