Coalgebraic Infinite Traces and Kleisli Simulations

Abstract

Kleisli simulation is a categorical notion introduced by Hasuo to verify finite trace inclusion. They allow us to give definitions of forward and backward simulation for various types of systems. A generic categorical theory behind Kleisli simulation has been developed and it guarantees the soundness of those simulations wrt. finite trace semantics. Moreover, those simulations can be aided by forward partial execution (FPE) - a categorical transformation of systems previously introduced by the authors.

In this paper, we give Kleisli simulation a theoretical foundation that assures its soundness also wrt. infinite trace. There, following Jacobs' work, infinite trace semantics is characterized as the "largest homomorphism." It turns out that soundness of forward simulations is rather straightforward; that of backward simulation holds too, although it requires certain additional conditions and its proof is more involved. We also show that FPE can be successfully employed in the infinite trace setting to enhance the applicability of Kleisli simulations as witnesses of trace inclusion. Our framework is parameterized in the monad for branching as well as in the functor for linear-time behaviors; for the former we use the powerset monad (for nondeterminism) as well as the sub-Giry monad (for probability).