Montserrat Hermo

The structure of logarithmic advice complexity classes

A nonuniform class called here Full-P/log, due to Ko, is studied. It corresponds to polynomial time with logarithmically long advice. Its importance lies in the structural properties it enjoys, more interesting than those of the alternative class P/log; specifically, its introduction was motivated by the need of a logarithmic advice class closed under polynomial-time deterministic reductions. Several characterizations of Full-P/log are shown, formulated in terms of various sorts of tally sets with very small information content. A study of its inner structure is presented, by considering the most usual reducibilities and looking for the relationships among the corresponding reduction and equivalence classes defined from these special tally sets.

A cut-free and invariant-free sequent calculus for PLTL

Sequent calculi usually provide a general deductive setting that uniformly embeds other proof-theoretical approaches, such as tableaux methods, resolution techniques, goal-directed proofs, etc. Unfortunately, in temporal logic, existing sequent calculi make use of a kind of inference rules that prevent the effective mechanization of temporal deduction in the general setting. In particular, temporal sequent calculi either need some form of cut, or they make use of invariants, or they include infinitary rules. This is the case even for the simplest kind of temporal logic, propositional linear temporal logic (PLTL). In this paper, we provide a complete finitary sequent calculus for PLTL, called FC, that not only is cut-free but also invariant-free. In particular, we introduce new rules which provide a new style of temporal deduction. We give a detailed proof of completeness.

Systematic Semantic Tableaux for PLTL

The better known methods of semantic tableaux for deciding satisfiability in propositional linear temporal logic generate graphs in addition to classical trees. The test of satisfaction is made from the graph and it does not correspond with the application of rules in any calculus for PLTL. We present here a new method of semantic tableaux without using additional graphs. The method is based on a new complete finitary sequent calculus for PLTL which allows us to incorporate all the information in a tree. This approach makes our tableaux better suited for completely automatic theorem proving.

Dual systems of tableaux and sequents for PLTL

Abstract On one hand, traditional tableau systems for temporal logic (TL) generate an auxiliary graph that must be checked and (possibly) pruned in a second phase of the refutation procedure. On the other hand, traditional sequent calculi for TL make use of a kind of inference rules (mainly, invariant-based rules or infinitary rules) that complicates their automatization. A remarkable consequence of using auxiliary graphs in the tableaux framework and invariants or infinitary rules in the sequents framework is that TL fails to carry out the classical correspondence between tableaux and sequents. In this paper, we first provide a tableau method TTM that does not require auxiliary graphs to decide whether a set of PLTL-formulas is satisfiable. This tableau method TTM is directly associated to a one-sided sequent calculus called TTC. Since TTM is free from all the structural rules that hinder the mechanization of deduction, e.g. weakening and contraction, then the resulting sequent calculus TTC is also free from this kind of structural rules. In particular, TTC is free of any kind of cut, including invariant-based cut. From the deduction system TTC, we obtain a two-sided sequent calculus GTC that preserves all these good freeness properties and is finitary, sound and complete for PTL. Therefore, we show that the classical correspondence between tableaux and sequent calculi can be extended to TL. Every deduction system is proved to be complete. In addition, we provide illustrative examples of deductions in the different systems.

Learning Minimal Covers of Functional Dependencies with Queries

Functional dependencies play an important role in the design of databases. We study the learnability of the class of minimal covers of functional dependencies (MCFD) within the exact learning model via queries. We prove that neither equivalence queries alone nor membership queries alone suffice to learn the class. In contrast, we show that learning becomes feasible if both types of queries are allowed. We also give some properties concerning minimal covers.

Invariant-Free Clausal Temporal Resolution

Resolution is a well-known proof method for classical logics that is well suited for mechanization. The most fruitful approach in the literature on temporal logic, which was started with the seminal paper of M. Fisher, deals with Propositional Linear-time Temporal Logic (PLTL) and requires to generate invariants for performing resolution on eventualities. The methods and techniques developed in that approach have also been successfully adapted in order to obtain a clausal resolution method for Computation Tree Logic (CTL), but invariant handling seems to be a handicap for further extension to more general branching temporal logics. In this paper, we present a new approach to applying resolution to PLTL. The main novelty of our approach is that we do not generate invariants for performing resolution on eventualities. Hence, we say that the approach presented in this paper is invariant-free. Our method is based on the dual methods of tableaux and sequents for PLTL that we presented in a previous paper. Our resolution method involves translation into a clausal normal form that is a direct extension of classical CNF. We first show that any PLTL-formula can be transformed into this clausal normal form. Then, we present our temporal resolution method, called trs-resolution, that extends classical propositional resolution. Finally, we prove that trs-resolution is sound and complete. In fact, it finishes for any input formula deciding its satisfiability, hence it gives rise to a new decision procedure for PLTL.

Negative results on learning multivalued dependencies with queries

Data dependencies are useful to design relational databases. There is a strong connection between dependencies and some fragments of the propositional logic. In particular, functional dependencies are closely related to Horn formulas. Also, multivalued dependencies are characterized in terms of multivalued formulas. It is known that both Horn formulas and sets of functional dependencies are learnable in the exact model of learning with queries. Here we proof that neither multivalued formulas nor multivalued dependencies can be learned using only membership queries or only equivalence queries.

On the Sparse Set Conjecture for Sets with Low Density

We study the sparse set conjecture for sets with low density. The sparse set conjecture states that P=NP if and only if there exists a sparse Turing hard set for NP. In this paper we study a weaker variant of the conjecture. We are interested in the consequences of NP having Turing hard sets of density f(n), for (unbounded) functions f(n), that are sub-polynomial, for example log(n). We establish a connection between Turing hard sets for NP with density f(n) and bounded nondeterminism: We prove that if NP has a Turing hard set of density f(n), then satisfiability is computable in polynomial time with O(log(n)*f(n c )) many nondeterministic bits for some constant c. As a consequence of the proof technique we obtain absolute results about the density of Turing hard sets for EXP. We show that no Turing hard set for EXP can have sub-polynomial density. On the other hand we show that these results are optimal w.r.t. relativizing computations. For unbounded functions f(n), there exists an oracle relative to which NP has a f(n) dense Turing hard tally set but still P≠NP.

A note on polynomial-size circuits with low resource-bounded Kolmogorov complexity

It is well known that the class P/poly can be characterized in terms of polynomial-size circuits. We obtain a characterization of the class P/log using polynomial-size circuits with low resource-bounded Kolmogorov complexity.The concept of “small circuits with easy descriptions” has been introduced in the literature as a candidate for characterizing P/log. We prove that this concept corresponds exactly to the class P/O(log n * log(log n)), and that this is different from P/log.Generalizations of this result are also obtained.

Degrees and Reducibilities of Easy Tally Sets

The logarithmic advice class, Full-P/log, is known to coincide with the class of languages that are polynomial time reducible to special “easy” tally sets.