Martin Suda — Resolution-based Methods for Linear Temporal Reasoning CZ | EN

Thesis information

Author:
Martin Suda
Title:
Resolution-based Methods for Linear Temporal Reasoning
Advisors:
Prof. Dr. Roman Barták and Prof. Dr. Christoph Weidenbach
The thesis has been realized under a joint supervision program (cotutelle).
Institute:
Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University in Prague
Faculties of Natural Sciences and Technology of Saarland University
Max-Planck-Institut für Informatik
Defended:
Saarbrücken, October 2015

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to explore the potential of resolution-based methods for linear temporal reasoning. On the abstract level, this means to develop new algorithms for automated reasoning about properties of systems which evolve in time. More concretely, we will:

  1. show how to adapt the superposition framework to proving theorems in propositional Linear Temporal Logic (LTL),
  2. use a connection between superposition and the CDCL calculus of modern SAT solvers to come up with an efficient LTL prover,
  3. specialize the previous to reachability properties and discover a close connection to Property Directed Reachability (PDR), an algorithm recently developed for model checking of hardware circuits,
  4. further improve PDR by providing a new technique for enhancing clause propagation phase of the algorithm, and
  5. adapt PDR to automated planning by replacing the SAT solver inside with a planning-specific procedure.

We implemented the proposed ideas and provide experimental results which demonstrate their practical potential on representative benchmark sets. Our system LS4 is shown to be the strongest LTL prover currently publicly available. The mentioned enhancement of PDR substantially improves the performance of our implementation of the algorithm for hardware model checking in the multi-property setting. It is expected that other implementations would benefit from it in an analogous way. Finally, our planner PDRplan has been compared with the state-of-the-art planners on the benchmarks from the International Planning Competition with very promising results.

Illustration

Srdicko

Layers of clauses generetad by the Reach algorithm (described in Chapter 5 of the thesis) on problem bobsmminiuart from the Hardware Model Checking Competition repository.

The figure captures situation at the end of iteration 30 of the run of the algorithm. At that point the algorithm has shown that there is not bug-trace of length 30 steps or less. Clauses highlighted in red are those used in the last (partial) proof (for the lenght 30). The remaining ones were generated during previous iterations.

Links between clauses signify logical dependencies.

Numbers are uniquely assigned to clauses. A clause may occur in several layers. Discovering two idential layers would mean that there is no bug-trace of any length and the problem is unsatisfiable.

[Click on the figure to enlarge.]

Files

Extended abstract:
autoreferat.pdf
Thesis:
thesis.pdf
Defence presentation:
presentation.pdf

Selected publications

Martin SudaFormal Methods Group in the School of Computer Science at the University of Manchester. Room 2.46, Kilburn Building, Oxford Road, M13 9PL, UK. E-mail: sudam[at]cs.man.ac.uk.