46 Search Results for "Fijalkow, Nathanael"

Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2026.12
Strategy Repair in Reachability Games via a Graph Quotientation

Authors: Tiziana Calamoneri, Pierre Gaillard, Giacomo Paesani, and Giuseppe Perelli

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 370, 20th Scandinavian Symposium on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2026)

Abstract
Reachability Games over graphs (RGs) are a powerful modelling tool for synthesis and planning. The solutions to RGs are strategies that are used in program design. Sometimes, due to model deviation at execution time, specification updates, or simply a bug, the strategy provided as a solution to an RG no longer works. Strategy Repair aims to solve this problem by adjusting strategies with a minimum number of modifications. Such a minimisation requirement is motivated by the costs that one may incur when implementing the new strategy. To minimise implementation costs, one wants to reuse as much of the provided strategy as possible. In the literature, Strategy Repair has been investigated from both theoretical and practical perspectives. First, it has been shown to be NP-complete. Second, two algorithmic approaches have been proposed to tackle the problem in practice, one provides an optimal solution, the other an approximated solution. Both approaches underutilise the graph-theoretical properties of games, which could significantly improve their performance and accuracy (in the case of approximation algorithms). This paper provides a graph-theoretic characterisation of Strategy Repair that provably improves every algorithmic approach to solving the problem. It does so by introducing a new notion of quotient graph that allows us to identify and merge those vertices that are equivalent from the perspective of every solution to the problem. This way, solving Strategy Repair can be done in a reduced instance, which we call the quotient game. The approach not only reduces the problem’s input size, but also improves the effectiveness of MustFix, an optimisation condition previously introduced for the problem. Besides the theoretical characterisation, we test our approach empirically by running experiments to demonstrate improvements over the quotient graph approach.
Cite as

Tiziana Calamoneri, Pierre Gaillard, Giacomo Paesani, and Giuseppe Perelli. Strategy Repair in Reachability Games via a Graph Quotientation. In 20th Scandinavian Symposium on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 370, pp. 12:1-12:16, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{calamoneri_et_al:LIPIcs.SWAT.2026.12,
  author =	{Calamoneri, Tiziana and Gaillard, Pierre and Paesani, Giacomo and Perelli, Giuseppe},
  title =	{{Strategy Repair in Reachability Games via a Graph Quotientation}},
  booktitle =	{20th Scandinavian Symposium on Algorithm Theory (SWAT 2026)},
  pages =	{12:1--12:16},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-421-5},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{370},
  editor =	{Fraigniaud, Pierre},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2026.12},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-260481},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.SWAT.2026.12},
  annote =	{Keywords: Reachability Games, Strategy Repair, Strategic Reasoning, Automated Reasoning}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.5
On the Complexity of Language Membership for Probabilistic Words

Authors: Antoine Amarilli, Mikaël Monet, Paul Raphaël, and Sylvain Salvati

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 364, 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)

Abstract
We study the membership problem to context-free languages L (CFLs) on probabilistic words, that specify for each position a probability distribution on the letters (assuming independence across positions). Our task is to compute, given a probabilistic word, what is the probability that a word drawn according to the distribution belongs to L. This problem generalizes the problem of counting how many words of length n belong to L, or of counting how many completions of a partial word belong to L. We show that this problem is in polynomial time for unambiguous context-free languages (uCFLs), but can be #P-hard already for unions of two linear uCFLs. More generally, we show that the problem is in polynomial time for so-called poly-slicewise-unambiguous languages, where given a length n we can tractably compute an uCFL for the words of length n in the language. This class includes some inherently ambiguous languages, and implies the tractability of bounded CFLs and of languages recognized by unambiguous polynomial-time counter automata; but we show that the problem can be #P-hard for nondeterministic counter automata, even for Parikh automata with a single counter. We then introduce classes of circuits from knowledge compilation which we use for tractable counting, and show that this covers the tractability of poly-slicewise-unambiguous languages and of some CFLs that are not poly-slicewise-unambiguous. Extending these circuits with negation further allows us to show tractability for the language of primitive words, and for the language of concatenations of two palindromes. We finally show the conditional undecidability of the meta-problem that asks, given a CFG, whether the probabilistic membership problem for that CFG is tractable or #P-hard.
Cite as

Antoine Amarilli, Mikaël Monet, Paul Raphaël, and Sylvain Salvati. On the Complexity of Language Membership for Probabilistic Words. In 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 364, pp. 5:1-5:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{amarilli_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2026.5,
  author =	{Amarilli, Antoine and Monet, Mika\"{e}l and Rapha\"{e}l, Paul and Salvati, Sylvain},
  title =	{{On the Complexity of Language Membership for Probabilistic Words}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)},
  pages =	{5:1--5:21},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-412-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{364},
  editor =	{Mahajan, Meena and Manea, Florin and McIver, Annabelle and Thắng, Nguy\~{ê}n Kim},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.5},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-254943},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.5},
  annote =	{Keywords: Automaton, probabilistic words, context-free grammar, membership problem}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.31
Lower Bounds for Ranking-Based Pivot Rules

Authors: Yann Disser, Georg Loho, Matthew Maat, and Nils Mosis

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 364, 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)

Abstract
The existence of a polynomial pivot rule for the simplex method for linear programming, policy iteration for Markov decision processes, and strategy improvement for parity games each are prominent open problems in their respective fields. While numerous natural candidates for efficient rules have been eliminated, all existing lower bound constructions are tailored to individual or small sets of pivot rules. We introduce a unified framework for formalizing classes of rules according to the information about the input that they rely on. Within this framework, we show lower bounds for ranking-based classes of rules that base their decisions on orderings of the improving pivot steps induced by the underlying data. Our first result is a superpolynomial lower bound for strategy improvement, obtained via a family of sink parity games, which applies to memory-based generalizations of Bland’s rule that only access the input by comparing the ranks of improving edges in some global order. Our second result is a subexponential lower bound for policy iteration, obtained via a family of Markov decision processes, which applies to memoryless rules that only access the input by comparing improving actions according to their ranks in a global order, their reduced costs, and the associated improvements in objective value. Both results carry over to the simplex method for linear programming.
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Yann Disser, Georg Loho, Matthew Maat, and Nils Mosis. Lower Bounds for Ranking-Based Pivot Rules. In 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 364, pp. 31:1-31:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{disser_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2026.31,
  author =	{Disser, Yann and Loho, Georg and Maat, Matthew and Mosis, Nils},
  title =	{{Lower Bounds for Ranking-Based Pivot Rules}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)},
  pages =	{31:1--31:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-412-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{364},
  editor =	{Mahajan, Meena and Manea, Florin and McIver, Annabelle and Thắng, Nguy\~{ê}n Kim},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.31},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-255207},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.31},
  annote =	{Keywords: lower bounds, Markov decision processes, parity games, pivot rules, policy iteration, simplex method}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.67
Pumping-Like Results for Copyless Cost Register Automata and Polynomially Ambiguous Weighted Automata

Authors: Filip Mazowiecki, Antoni Puch, and Daniel Smertnig

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 364, 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)

Abstract
In this work we consider two rich subclasses of weighted automata over fields: polynomially ambiguous weighted automata and copyless cost register automata. Primarily we are interested in understanding their expressiveness power. Over the field of rationals and 1-letter alphabets, it is known that the two classes coincide; they are equivalent to linear recurrence sequences (LRS) whose exponential bases are roots of rationals. We develop a tool we call Pumping Sequence Families, which, by exploiting the simple single-letter behaviour of the models, yields two pumping-like results over arbitrary fields with unrestricted alphabets, one for each class. As a corollary of these results, we present examples proving that the two classes become incomparable over the field of rationals with unrestricted alphabets. We complement the results by analysing the zeroness and equivalence problems. For weighted automata (even unrestricted) these problems are well understood: there are polynomial time, and even NC² algorithms. For copyless cost register automata we show that the two problems are PSpace-complete, where the difficulty is to show the lower bound.
Cite as

Filip Mazowiecki, Antoni Puch, and Daniel Smertnig. Pumping-Like Results for Copyless Cost Register Automata and Polynomially Ambiguous Weighted Automata. In 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 364, pp. 67:1-67:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{mazowiecki_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2026.67,
  author =	{Mazowiecki, Filip and Puch, Antoni and Smertnig, Daniel},
  title =	{{Pumping-Like Results for Copyless Cost Register Automata and Polynomially Ambiguous Weighted Automata}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)},
  pages =	{67:1--67:21},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-412-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{364},
  editor =	{Mahajan, Meena and Manea, Florin and McIver, Annabelle and Thắng, Nguy\~{ê}n Kim},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.67},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-255568},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.67},
  annote =	{Keywords: weighted automata, cost register automata, ambiguity, linear recurrence sequences, equivalence problem}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2025.5
Distributed Games with a Central Decision Maker

Authors: Bharat Adsul and Nehul Jain

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 360, 45th IARCS Annual Conference on Foundations of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science (FSTTCS 2025)

Abstract
We study distributed games played on non-deterministic asynchronous automata which feature a central decision maker process that participates in all key decision making tasks. In these partial-information games, processes use their causal past to respond to scheduling choices made by the scheduler and cooperatively strategize as a team to achieve the winning objective. We show that the problem of deciding the existence of a distributed winning strategy is efficiently solvable for global safety and local parity objectives. We provide algorithmic solutions that match their computational hardness. We formulate the notion of a finite-state distributed strategy which allows to quantify its distributed memory requirements. For the aforementioned objectives, we establish that finite-state distributed winning strategies always exist. In fact, we provide novel constructions of such winning strategies which are shown to have almost optimal amount of distributed memory. We also show that a natural extension of the model with two decision making processes is undecidable.
Cite as

Bharat Adsul and Nehul Jain. Distributed Games with a Central Decision Maker. In 45th IARCS Annual Conference on Foundations of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science (FSTTCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 360, pp. 5:1-5:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{adsul_et_al:LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2025.5,
  author =	{Adsul, Bharat and Jain, Nehul},
  title =	{{Distributed Games with a Central Decision Maker}},
  booktitle =	{45th IARCS Annual Conference on Foundations of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science (FSTTCS 2025)},
  pages =	{5:1--5:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-406-2},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{360},
  editor =	{Aiswarya, C. and Mehta, Ruta and Roy, Subhajit},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2025.5},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-250843},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.FSTTCS.2025.5},
  annote =	{Keywords: Mazurkiewicz traces, models of concurrency, distributed synthesis, game-theoretic models, asynchronous automata, distributed decision-making}
}
Document
RANDOM
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.56
Efficient Polynomial Identity Testing over Nonassociative Algebras

Authors: Partha Mukhopadhyay, C. Ramya, and Pratik Shastri

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 353, Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)

Abstract
We design the first efficient polynomial identity testing algorithms over the nonassociative polynomial algebra. In particular, multiplication among the formal variables is commutative but it is not associative. This complements the strong lower bound results obtained over this algebra by Hrubeš, Yehudayoff, and Wigderson [Pavel Hrubes et al., 2010] and Fijalkow, Lagarde, Ohlmann, and Serre [Fijalkow et al., 2021] from the identity testing perspective. Our main results are the following: - We construct nonassociative algebras (both commutative and noncommutative) which have no low degree identities. As a result, we obtain the first Amitsur-Levitzki type theorems [A. S. Amitsur and J. Levitzki, 1950] over nonassociative polynomial algebras. As a direct consequence, we obtain randomized polynomial-time black-box PIT algorithms for nonassociative polynomials which allow evaluation over such algebras. - On the derandomization side, we give a deterministic polynomial-time identity testing algorithm for nonassociative polynomials given by arithmetic circuits in the white-box setting. Previously, such an algorithm was known with the additional restriction of noncommutativity [Vikraman Arvind et al., 2017]. - In the black-box setting, we construct a hitting set of quasipolynomial-size for nonassociative polynomials computed by arithmetic circuits of small depth. Understanding the black-box complexity of identity testing, even in the randomized setting, was open prior to our work.
Cite as

Partha Mukhopadhyay, C. Ramya, and Pratik Shastri. Efficient Polynomial Identity Testing over Nonassociative Algebras. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 353, pp. 56:1-56:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{mukhopadhyay_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.56,
  author =	{Mukhopadhyay, Partha and C. Ramya and Shastri, Pratik},
  title =	{{Efficient Polynomial Identity Testing over Nonassociative Algebras}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)},
  pages =	{56:1--56:22},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-397-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{353},
  editor =	{Ene, Alina and Chattopadhyay, Eshan},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.56},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-244224},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.56},
  annote =	{Keywords: Polynomial identity testing, nonassociative algebra, arithmetic circuits, black-box algorithms, white-box algorithms}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.31
Games with ω-Automatic Preference Relations

Authors: Véronique Bruyère, Christophe Grandmont, and Jean-François Raskin

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 345, 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)

Abstract
This paper investigates Nash equilibria (NEs) in multi-player turn-based games on graphs, where player preferences are modeled as ω-automatic relations via deterministic parity automata. Unlike much of the existing literature, which focuses on specific reward functions, our results apply to any preference relation definable by an ω-automatic relation. We analyze the computational complexity of determining the existence of an NE (possibly under some constraints), verifying whether a given strategy profile forms an NE, and checking whether a specific outcome can be realized by an NE. When a (constrained) NE exists, we show that there always exists one with finite-memory strategies. Finally, we explore fundamental properties of ω-automatic relations and their implications in the existence of equilibria.
Cite as

Véronique Bruyère, Christophe Grandmont, and Jean-François Raskin. Games with ω-Automatic Preference Relations. In 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 345, pp. 31:1-31:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{bruyere_et_al:LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.31,
  author =	{Bruy\`{e}re, V\'{e}ronique and Grandmont, Christophe and Raskin, Jean-Fran\c{c}ois},
  title =	{{Games with \omega-Automatic Preference Relations}},
  booktitle =	{50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)},
  pages =	{31:1--31:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-388-1},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{345},
  editor =	{Gawrychowski, Pawe{\l} and Mazowiecki, Filip and Skrzypczak, Micha{\l}},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.31},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-241381},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.31},
  annote =	{Keywords: Games played on graphs, Nash equilibrium, \omega-automatic relations, \omega-recognizable relations, constrained Nash equilibria existence problem}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.66
Deciding Regular Games: a Playground for Exponential Time Algorithms

Authors: Zihui Liang, Bakh Khoussainov, and Mingyu Xiao

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 345, 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)

Abstract
Regular games form a well-established class of games for analysis and synthesis of reactive systems. They include colored Muller games, McNaughton games, Muller games, Rabin games, and Streett games. These games are played on directed graphs G where Player 0 and Player 1 play by generating an infinite path ρ through the graph. The winner is determined by specifications put on the set X of vertices in ρ that occur infinitely often. These games are determined, enabling the partitioning of G into two sets Win₀ and Win₁ of winning positions for Player 0 and Player 1, respectively. Numerous algorithms exist that decide instances of regular games, e.g., Muller games, by computing Win₀ and Win₁. In this paper we aim to find general principles for designing uniform algorithms that decide all regular games. For this we utilize various recursive and dynamic programming algorithms that leverage standard notions such as subgames and traps. Importantly, we show that our techniques improve or match the performances of existing algorithms for many instances of regular games.
Cite as

Zihui Liang, Bakh Khoussainov, and Mingyu Xiao. Deciding Regular Games: a Playground for Exponential Time Algorithms. In 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 345, pp. 66:1-66:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{liang_et_al:LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.66,
  author =	{Liang, Zihui and Khoussainov, Bakh and Xiao, Mingyu},
  title =	{{Deciding Regular Games: a Playground for Exponential Time Algorithms}},
  booktitle =	{50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)},
  pages =	{66:1--66:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-388-1},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{345},
  editor =	{Gawrychowski, Pawe{\l} and Mazowiecki, Filip and Skrzypczak, Micha{\l}},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.66},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-241732},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.66},
  annote =	{Keywords: Regular games, colored Muller games, Rabin games, McNaughton games, Muller games, deciding games}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.86
Probabilistic Finite Automaton Emptiness Is Undecidable for a Fixed Automaton

Authors: Günter Rote

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 345, 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)

Abstract
We construct a probabilistic finite automaton (PFA) with 7 states and an input alphabet of 5 symbols for which the PFA Emptiness Problem is undecidable. The only input for the decision problem is the starting distribution. For the proof, we use reductions from special instances of the Post Correspondence Problem. We also consider some variations: The input alphabet of the PFA can be restricted to a binary alphabet at the expense of a larger number of states. If we allow a rational output value for each state instead of a yes-no acceptance decision, the number of states can even be reduced to 6.
Cite as

Günter Rote. Probabilistic Finite Automaton Emptiness Is Undecidable for a Fixed Automaton. In 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 345, pp. 86:1-86:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{rote:LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.86,
  author =	{Rote, G\"{u}nter},
  title =	{{Probabilistic Finite Automaton Emptiness Is Undecidable for a Fixed Automaton}},
  booktitle =	{50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)},
  pages =	{86:1--86:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-388-1},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{345},
  editor =	{Gawrychowski, Pawe{\l} and Mazowiecki, Filip and Skrzypczak, Micha{\l}},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.86},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-241930},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.86},
  annote =	{Keywords: Probabilistic finite automaton, Undecidability, Post Correspondence Problem}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2025.32
Resolving Nondeterminism by Chance

Authors: Soumyajit Paul, David Purser, Sven Schewe, Qiyi Tang, Patrick Totzke, and Di-De Yen

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 348, 36th International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2025)

Abstract
History-deterministic automata are those in which nondeterministic choices can be correctly resolved stepwise: there is a strategy to select a continuation of a run given the next input letter so that if the overall input word admits some accepting run, then the constructed run is also accepting. Motivated by checking qualitative properties in probabilistic verification, we consider the setting where the resolver strategy can randomise and only needs to succeed with lower-bounded probability. We study the expressiveness of such stochastically-resolvable automata as well as consider the decision questions of whether a given automaton has this property. In particular, we show that it is undecidable to check if a given NFA is λ-stochastically resolvable. This problem is decidable for finitely-ambiguous automata. We also present complexity upper and lower bounds for several well-studied classes of automata for which this problem remains decidable.
Cite as

Soumyajit Paul, David Purser, Sven Schewe, Qiyi Tang, Patrick Totzke, and Di-De Yen. Resolving Nondeterminism by Chance. In 36th International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 348, pp. 32:1-32:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{paul_et_al:LIPIcs.CONCUR.2025.32,
  author =	{Paul, Soumyajit and Purser, David and Schewe, Sven and Tang, Qiyi and Totzke, Patrick and Yen, Di-De},
  title =	{{Resolving Nondeterminism by Chance}},
  booktitle =	{36th International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2025)},
  pages =	{32:1--32:22},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-389-8},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{348},
  editor =	{Bouyer, Patricia and van de Pol, Jaco},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2025.32},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-239822},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2025.32},
  annote =	{Keywords: History-determinism, finite automata, probabilistic automata}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2025.36
Explainability is a Game for Probabilistic Bisimilarity Distances

Authors: Emily Vlasman, Anto Nanah Ji, James Worrell, and Franck van Breugel

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 348, 36th International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2025)

Abstract
We revisit a game from the literature that characterizes the probabilistic bisimilarity distances of a labelled Markov chain. We illustrate how an optimal policy of the game can explain these distances. Like the games that characterize bisimilarity and probabilistic bisimilarity, the game is played on pairs of states and matches transitions of those states. To obtain more convincing and interpretable explanations than those provided by generic optimal policies, we restrict to optimal policies that delay reaching observably inequivalent state pairs for as long as possible (called 1-maximal) while quickly reaching equivalent ones (called 0-minimal). We present iterative algorithms that compute 1-maximal and 0-minimal policies and prove an exponential lower bound for the number of iterations of the algorithm that computes 1-maximal policies.
Cite as

Emily Vlasman, Anto Nanah Ji, James Worrell, and Franck van Breugel. Explainability is a Game for Probabilistic Bisimilarity Distances. In 36th International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 348, pp. 36:1-36:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{vlasman_et_al:LIPIcs.CONCUR.2025.36,
  author =	{Vlasman, Emily and Nanah Ji, Anto and Worrell, James and van Breugel, Franck},
  title =	{{Explainability is a Game for Probabilistic Bisimilarity Distances}},
  booktitle =	{36th International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2025)},
  pages =	{36:1--36:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-389-8},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{348},
  editor =	{Bouyer, Patricia and van de Pol, Jaco},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2025.36},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-239861},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2025.36},
  annote =	{Keywords: probabilistic bisimilarity distance, labelled Markov chain, game, policy, explainability}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2025.7
Temporal Explorability Games

Authors: Pete Austin, Sougata Bose, Nicolas Mazzocchi, and Patrick Totzke

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 348, 36th International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2025)

Abstract
Temporal graphs extend ordinary graphs with discrete time that affects the availability of edges. We consider solving games played on temporal graphs where one player aims to explore the graph, i.e., visit all vertices. The complexity depends majorly on two factors: the presence of an adversary and how edge availability is specified. We demonstrate that on static graphs, where edges are always available, solving explorability games is just as hard as solving reachability games. In contrast, on temporal graphs, the complexity of explorability coincides with generalized reachability (NP-complete for one-player and PSPACE-complete for two player games). We show that if temporal graphs are given symbolically, even one-player reachability (and thus explorability and generalized reachability) games are PSPACE-hard. For one player, all these are also solvable in PSPACE and for two players, they are in PSPACE, EXP and EXP, respectively.
Cite as

Pete Austin, Sougata Bose, Nicolas Mazzocchi, and Patrick Totzke. Temporal Explorability Games. In 36th International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 348, pp. 7:1-7:17, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{austin_et_al:LIPIcs.CONCUR.2025.7,
  author =	{Austin, Pete and Bose, Sougata and Mazzocchi, Nicolas and Totzke, Patrick},
  title =	{{Temporal Explorability Games}},
  booktitle =	{36th International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2025)},
  pages =	{7:1--7:17},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-389-8},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{348},
  editor =	{Bouyer, Patricia and van de Pol, Jaco},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2025.7},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-239575},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2025.7},
  annote =	{Keywords: Temporal Graphs, Explorability, Reachability, Games}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2025.9
A Direct Reduction from Stochastic Parity Games to Simple Stochastic Games

Authors: Raphaël Berthon, Joost-Pieter Katoen, and Zihan Zhou

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 348, 36th International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2025)

Abstract
Significant progress has been recently achieved in developing efficient solutions for simple stochastic games (SSGs), focusing on reachability objectives. While reductions from stochastic parity games (SPGs) to SSGs have been presented in the literature through the use of multiple intermediate game models, a direct and simple reduction has been notably absent. This paper introduces a novel and direct polynomial-time reduction from quantitative SPGs to quantitative SSGs. By leveraging a gadget-based transformation that effectively removes the priority function, we construct an SSG that simulates the behavior of a given SPG. We formally establish the correctness of our direct reduction. Furthermore, we demonstrate that under binary encoding this reduction is polynomial, thereby directly corroborating the known NP ∩ coNP complexity of SPGs and providing new understanding in the relationship between parity and reachability objectives in turn-based stochastic games.
Cite as

Raphaël Berthon, Joost-Pieter Katoen, and Zihan Zhou. A Direct Reduction from Stochastic Parity Games to Simple Stochastic Games. In 36th International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 348, pp. 9:1-9:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{berthon_et_al:LIPIcs.CONCUR.2025.9,
  author =	{Berthon, Rapha\"{e}l and Katoen, Joost-Pieter and Zhou, Zihan},
  title =	{{A Direct Reduction from Stochastic Parity Games to Simple Stochastic Games}},
  booktitle =	{36th International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2025)},
  pages =	{9:1--9:21},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-389-8},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{348},
  editor =	{Bouyer, Patricia and van de Pol, Jaco},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2025.9},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-239595},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2025.9},
  annote =	{Keywords: stochastic games, parity, reduction}
}
Document
Track B: Automata, Logic, Semantics, and Theory of Programming
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.138
Taming Infinity One Chunk at a Time: Concisely Represented Strategies in One-Counter MDPs

Authors: Michal Ajdarów, James C. A. Main, Petr Novotný, and Mickael Randour

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 334, 52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025)

Abstract
Markov decision processes (MDPs) are a canonical model to reason about decision making within a stochastic environment. We study a fundamental class of infinite MDPs: one-counter MDPs (OC-MDPs). They extend finite MDPs via an associated counter taking natural values, thus inducing an infinite MDP over the set of configurations (current state and counter value). We consider two characteristic objectives: reaching a target state (state-reachability), and reaching a target state with counter value zero (selective termination). The synthesis problem for the latter is not known to be decidable and connected to major open problems in number theory. Furthermore, even seemingly simple strategies (e.g., memoryless ones) in OC-MDPs might be impossible to build in practice (due to the underlying infinite configuration space): we need finite, and preferably small, representations. To overcome these obstacles, we introduce two natural classes of concisely represented strategies based on a (possibly infinite) partition of counter values in intervals. For both classes, and both objectives, we study the verification problem (does a given strategy ensure a high enough probability for the objective?), and two synthesis problems (does there exist such a strategy?): one where the interval partition is fixed as input, and one where it is only parameterized. We develop a generic approach based on a compression of the induced infinite MDP that yields decidability in all cases, with all complexities within PSPACE.
Cite as

Michal Ajdarów, James C. A. Main, Petr Novotný, and Mickael Randour. Taming Infinity One Chunk at a Time: Concisely Represented Strategies in One-Counter MDPs. In 52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 334, pp. 138:1-138:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{ajdarow_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.138,
  author =	{Ajdar\'{o}w, Michal and Main, James C. A. and Novotn\'{y}, Petr and Randour, Mickael},
  title =	{{Taming Infinity One Chunk at a Time: Concisely Represented Strategies in One-Counter MDPs}},
  booktitle =	{52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025)},
  pages =	{138:1--138:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-372-0},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{334},
  editor =	{Censor-Hillel, Keren and Grandoni, Fabrizio and Ouaknine, Jo\"{e}l and Puppis, Gabriele},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.138},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-235157},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.138},
  annote =	{Keywords: one-counter Markov decision processes, randomised strategies, termination, reachability}
}
Document
Track B: Automata, Logic, Semantics, and Theory of Programming
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.165
Algebraic Language Theory with Effects

Authors: Fabian Lenke, Stefan Milius, Henning Urbat, and Thorsten Wißmann

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 334, 52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025)

Abstract
Regular languages - the languages accepted by deterministic finite automata - are known to be precisely the languages recognized by finite monoids. This characterization is the origin of algebraic language theory. In this paper, we generalize the correspondence between automata and monoids to automata with generic computational effects given by a monad, providing the foundations of an effectful algebraic language theory. We show that, under suitable conditions on the monad, a language is computable by an effectful automaton precisely when it is recognizable by (1) an effectful monoid morphism into an effect-free finite monoid, and (2) a monoid morphism into a monad-monoid bialgebra whose carrier is a finitely generated algebra for the monad, the former mode of recognition being conceptually completely new. Our prime application is a novel algebraic approach to languages computed by probabilistic finite automata. Additionally, we derive new algebraic characterizations for nondeterministic probabilistic finite automata and for weighted finite automata over unrestricted semirings, generalizing previous results on weighted algebraic recognition over commutative rings.
Cite as

Fabian Lenke, Stefan Milius, Henning Urbat, and Thorsten Wißmann. Algebraic Language Theory with Effects. In 52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 334, pp. 165:1-165:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{lenke_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.165,
  author =	{Lenke, Fabian and Milius, Stefan and Urbat, Henning and Wi{\ss}mann, Thorsten},
  title =	{{Algebraic Language Theory with Effects}},
  booktitle =	{52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025)},
  pages =	{165:1--165:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-372-0},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{334},
  editor =	{Censor-Hillel, Keren and Grandoni, Fabrizio and Ouaknine, Jo\"{e}l and Puppis, Gabriele},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.165},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-235423},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.165},
  annote =	{Keywords: Automaton, Monoid, Monad, Effect, Algebraic language theory}
}
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