17 Search Results for "Shirmohammadi, Mahsa"

Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.60
The Asymptotic Size of Finite Irreducible Semigroups of Rational Matrices

Authors: Stefan Kiefer and Andrew Ryzhikov

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

Abstract
We study finite semigroups of n × n matrices with rational entries. Such semigroups provide a rich generalization of transition monoids of unambiguous (and, in particular, deterministic) finite automata. In this paper we determine the maximum size of finite semigroups of rational n × n matrices, with the goal of shedding more light on the structure of such matrix semigroups. While in general such semigroups can be arbitrarily large in terms of n, a classical result of Schützenberger from 1962 implies an upper bound of 2^{𝒪(n² log n)} for irreducible semigroups, i.e., the only subspaces of ℚⁿ that are invariant for all matrices in the semigroup are ℚⁿ and the subspace consisting only of the zero vector. Irreducible matrix semigroups can be viewed as the building blocks of general matrix semigroups, and as such play an important role in mathematics and computer science. From the point of view of automata theory, they generalize strongly connected automata. Using a very different technique from that of Schützenberger, we improve the upper bound on the cardinality to 3^{n²}. This is the main result of the paper. The bound is in some sense tight, as we show that there exists, for every n, a finite irreducible semigroup with 3^{⌊ n²/4 ⌋} rational matrices. Our main result also leads to an improvement of a bound, due to Almeida and Steinberg, on the mortality threshold. The mortality threshold is a number 𝓁 such that if the zero matrix is in the semigroup, then the zero matrix can be written as a product of at most 𝓁 matrices from any subset that generates the semigroup.
Cite as

Stefan Kiefer and Andrew Ryzhikov. The Asymptotic Size of Finite Irreducible Semigroups of Rational Matrices. In 43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 364, pp. 60:1-60:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{kiefer_et_al:LIPIcs.STACS.2026.60,
  author =	{Kiefer, Stefan and Ryzhikov, Andrew},
  title =	{{The Asymptotic Size of Finite Irreducible Semigroups of Rational Matrices}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Symposium on Theoretical Aspects of Computer Science (STACS 2026)},
  pages =	{60:1--60:20},
  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.2026.60},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-255496},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.STACS.2026.60},
  annote =	{Keywords: finite matrix semigroups, irreducible matrix semigroups, matrix mortality, aperiodic semigroups, unambiguous automata, transition monoids}
}
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.2025.159
The Ultimate Signs of Second-Order Holonomic Sequences

Authors: Fugen Hagihara and Akitoshi Kawamura

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

Abstract
A real-valued sequence f = {f(n)}_{n ∈ ℕ} is said to be second-order holonomic if it satisfies a linear recurrence f (n + 2) = P (n) f (n + 1) + Q (n) f (n) for all sufficiently large n, where P, Q ∈ ℝ(x) are rational functions. We study the ultimate sign of such a sequence, i.e., the repeated pattern that the signs of f (n) follow for sufficiently large n. For each P, Q we determine all ultimate signs that f can have, and show how they partition the space of initial values of f. This completes the prior work by Neumann, Ouaknine and Worrell, who have settled some restricted cases. As a corollary, it follows that when P, Q have rational coefficients, f either has an ultimate sign of length 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 or 12, or never falls into a repeated sign pattern. We also give a partial algorithm that finds the ultimate sign of f (or tells that there is none) in almost all cases.
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Fugen Hagihara and Akitoshi Kawamura. The Ultimate Signs of Second-Order Holonomic Sequences. In 52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 334, pp. 159:1-159:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{hagihara_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.159,
  author =	{Hagihara, Fugen and Kawamura, Akitoshi},
  title =	{{The Ultimate Signs of Second-Order Holonomic Sequences}},
  booktitle =	{52nd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2025)},
  pages =	{159:1--159:20},
  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.2025.159},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-235363},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2025.159},
  annote =	{Keywords: Holonomic sequences, ultimate signs, Skolem Problem, Positivity Problem}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CSL.2025.18
Reachability for Multi-Priced Timed Automata with Positive and Negative Rates

Authors: Andrew Scoones, Mahsa Shirmohammadi, and James Worrell

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 326, 33rd EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2025)

Abstract
Multi-priced timed automata (MPTA) are timed automata with observer variables whose derivatives can change from one location to another. Observers are read-once variables: they do not affect the control flow of the automaton and their value is output only at the end of a run. Thus MPTA lie between timed and hybrid automata in expressiveness. Previous work considered observers with non-negative slope in every location. In this paper we treat observers that have both positive and negative rates. Our main result is an algorithm to decide a gap version of the reachability problem for this variant of MPTA. We translate the gap reachability problem into a gap satisfiability problem for mixed integer-real systems of nonlinear constraints. Our main technical contribution - a result of independent interest - is a procedure to solve such contraints via a combination of branch-and-bound and relaxation-and-rounding.
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Andrew Scoones, Mahsa Shirmohammadi, and James Worrell. Reachability for Multi-Priced Timed Automata with Positive and Negative Rates. In 33rd EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 326, pp. 18:1-18:13, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{scoones_et_al:LIPIcs.CSL.2025.18,
  author =	{Scoones, Andrew and Shirmohammadi, Mahsa and Worrell, James},
  title =	{{Reachability for Multi-Priced Timed Automata with Positive and Negative Rates}},
  booktitle =	{33rd EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2025)},
  pages =	{18:1--18:13},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-362-1},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{326},
  editor =	{Endrullis, J\"{o}rg and Schmitz, Sylvain},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CSL.2025.18},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-227758},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CSL.2025.18},
  annote =	{Keywords: Bilinear constraints, Existential theory of real closed fields, Diophantine approximation, Pareto curve}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2024.17
Invariants for One-Counter Automata with Disequality Tests

Authors: Dmitry Chistikov, Jérôme Leroux, Henry Sinclair-Banks, and Nicolas Waldburger

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 311, 35th International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2024)

Abstract
We study the reachability problem for one-counter automata in which transitions can carry disequality tests. A disequality test is a guard that prohibits a specified counter value. This reachability problem has been known to be NP-hard and in PSPACE, and characterising its computational complexity has been left as a challenging open question by Almagor, Cohen, Pérez, Shirmohammadi, and Worrell (2020). We reduce the complexity gap, placing the problem into the second level of the polynomial hierarchy, namely into the class coNP^NP. In the presence of both equality and disequality tests, our upper bound is at the third level, P^NP^NP. To prove this result, we show that non-reachability can be witnessed by a pair of invariants (forward and backward). These invariants are almost inductive. They aim to over-approximate only a "core" of the reachability set instead of the entire set. The invariants are also leaky: it is possible to escape the set. We complement this with separate checks as the leaks can only occur in a controlled way.
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Dmitry Chistikov, Jérôme Leroux, Henry Sinclair-Banks, and Nicolas Waldburger. Invariants for One-Counter Automata with Disequality Tests. In 35th International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2024). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 311, pp. 17:1-17:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2024)

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@InProceedings{chistikov_et_al:LIPIcs.CONCUR.2024.17,
  author =	{Chistikov, Dmitry and Leroux, J\'{e}r\^{o}me and Sinclair-Banks, Henry and Waldburger, Nicolas},
  title =	{{Invariants for One-Counter Automata with Disequality Tests}},
  booktitle =	{35th International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2024)},
  pages =	{17:1--17:21},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-339-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2024},
  volume =	{311},
  editor =	{Majumdar, Rupak and Silva, Alexandra},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2024.17},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-207898},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2024.17},
  annote =	{Keywords: Inductive invariant, Vector addition system, One-counter automaton}
}
Document
Track B: Automata, Logic, Semantics, and Theory of Programming
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2024.145
The Threshold Problem for Hypergeometric Sequences with Quadratic Parameters

Authors: George Kenison

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 297, 51st International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2024)

Abstract
Hypergeometric sequences are rational-valued sequences that satisfy first-order linear recurrence relations with polynomial coefficients; that is, ⟨u_n⟩_{n=0}^∞ is hypergeometric if it satisfies a first-order linear recurrence of the form p(n)u_{n+1} = q(n)u_n with polynomial coefficients p,q ∈ ℤ[x] and u₀ ∈ ℚ. In this paper, we consider the Threshold Problem for hypergeometric sequences: given a hypergeometric sequence ⟨u_n⟩_{n=0}^∞ and a threshold t ∈ ℚ, determine whether u_n ≥ t for each n ∈ ℕ₀. We establish decidability for the Threshold Problem under the assumption that the coefficients p and q are monic polynomials whose roots lie in an imaginary quadratic extension of ℚ. We also establish conditional decidability results; for example, under the assumption that the coefficients p and q are monic polynomials whose roots lie in any number of quadratic extensions of ℚ, the Threshold Problem is decidable subject to the truth of Schanuel’s conjecture. Finally, we show how our approach both recovers and extends some of the recent decidability results on the Membership Problem for hypergeometric sequences with quadratic parameters.
Cite as

George Kenison. The Threshold Problem for Hypergeometric Sequences with Quadratic Parameters. In 51st International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2024). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 297, pp. 145:1-145:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2024)

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@InProceedings{kenison:LIPIcs.ICALP.2024.145,
  author =	{Kenison, George},
  title =	{{The Threshold Problem for Hypergeometric Sequences with Quadratic Parameters}},
  booktitle =	{51st International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2024)},
  pages =	{145:1--145:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-322-5},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2024},
  volume =	{297},
  editor =	{Bringmann, Karl and Grohe, Martin and Puppis, Gabriele and Svensson, Ola},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2024.145},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-202882},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2024.145},
  annote =	{Keywords: Threshold Problem, Membership Problem, Hypergeometric Sequences}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2022.16
Language Inclusion for Boundedly-Ambiguous Vector Addition Systems Is Decidable

Authors: Wojciech Czerwiński and Piotr Hofman

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 243, 33rd International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2022)

Abstract
We consider the problems of language inclusion and language equivalence for Vector Addition Systems with States (VASSes) with the acceptance condition defined by the set of accepting states (and more generally by some upward-closed conditions). In general the problem of language equivalence is undecidable even for one-dimensional VASSes, thus to get decidability we investigate restricted subclasses. On one hand we show that the problem of language inclusion of a VASS in k-ambiguous VASS (for any natural k) is decidable and even in Ackermann. On the other hand we prove that the language equivalence problem is Ackermann-hard already for deterministic VASSes. These two results imply Ackermann-completeness for language inclusion and equivalence in several possible restrictions. Some of our techniques can be also applied in much broader generality in infinite-state systems, namely for some subclass of well-structured transition systems.
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Wojciech Czerwiński and Piotr Hofman. Language Inclusion for Boundedly-Ambiguous Vector Addition Systems Is Decidable. In 33rd International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2022). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 243, pp. 16:1-16:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2022)

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@InProceedings{czerwinski_et_al:LIPIcs.CONCUR.2022.16,
  author =	{Czerwi\'{n}ski, Wojciech and Hofman, Piotr},
  title =	{{Language Inclusion for Boundedly-Ambiguous Vector Addition Systems Is Decidable}},
  booktitle =	{33rd International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2022)},
  pages =	{16:1--16:22},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-246-4},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2022},
  volume =	{243},
  editor =	{Klin, Bartek and Lasota, S{\l}awomir and Muscholl, Anca},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2022.16},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-170796},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2022.16},
  annote =	{Keywords: vector addition systems, language inclusion, language equivalence, determinism, unambiguity, bounded ambiguity, Petri nets, well-structured transition systems}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2021.11
Transience in Countable MDPs

Authors: Stefan Kiefer, Richard Mayr, Mahsa Shirmohammadi, and Patrick Totzke

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 203, 32nd International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2021)

Abstract
The Transience objective is not to visit any state infinitely often. While this is not possible in any finite Markov Decision Process (MDP), it can be satisfied in countably infinite ones, e.g., if the transition graph is acyclic. We prove the following fundamental properties of Transience in countably infinite MDPs. 1) There exist uniformly ε-optimal MD strategies (memoryless deterministic) for Transience, even in infinitely branching MDPs. 2) Optimal strategies for Transience need not exist, even if the MDP is finitely branching. However, if an optimal strategy exists then there is also an optimal MD strategy. 3) If an MDP is universally transient (i.e., almost surely transient under all strategies) then many other objectives have a lower strategy complexity than in general MDPs. E.g., ε-optimal strategies for Safety and co-Büchi and optimal strategies for {0,1,2}-Parity (where they exist) can be chosen MD, even if the MDP is infinitely branching.
Cite as

Stefan Kiefer, Richard Mayr, Mahsa Shirmohammadi, and Patrick Totzke. Transience in Countable MDPs. In 32nd International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2021). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 203, pp. 11:1-11:15, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2021)

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@InProceedings{kiefer_et_al:LIPIcs.CONCUR.2021.11,
  author =	{Kiefer, Stefan and Mayr, Richard and Shirmohammadi, Mahsa and Totzke, Patrick},
  title =	{{Transience in Countable MDPs}},
  booktitle =	{32nd International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2021)},
  pages =	{11:1--11:15},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-203-7},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2021},
  volume =	{203},
  editor =	{Haddad, Serge and Varacca, Daniele},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2021.11},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-143881},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2021.11},
  annote =	{Keywords: Markov decision processes, Parity, Transience}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2020.38
Coverability in 1-VASS with Disequality Tests

Authors: Shaull Almagor, Nathann Cohen, Guillermo A. Pérez, Mahsa Shirmohammadi, and James Worrell

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 171, 31st International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2020)

Abstract
We study a class of reachability problems in weighted graphs with constraints on the accumulated weight of paths. The problems we study can equivalently be formulated in the model of vector addition systems with states (VASS). We consider a version of the vertex-to-vertex reachability problem in which the accumulated weight of a path is required always to be non-negative. This is equivalent to the so-called control-state reachability problem (also called the coverability problem) for 1-dimensional VASS. We show that this problem lies in NC: the class of problems solvable in polylogarithmic parallel time. In our main result we generalise the problem to allow disequality constraints on edges (i.e., we allow edges to be disabled if the accumulated weight is equal to a specific value). We show that in this case the vertex-to-vertex reachability problem is solvable in polynomial time even though a shortest path may have exponential length. In the language of VASS this means that control-state reachability is in polynomial time for 1-dimensional VASS with disequality tests.
Cite as

Shaull Almagor, Nathann Cohen, Guillermo A. Pérez, Mahsa Shirmohammadi, and James Worrell. Coverability in 1-VASS with Disequality Tests. In 31st International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2020). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 171, pp. 38:1-38:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2020)

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@InProceedings{almagor_et_al:LIPIcs.CONCUR.2020.38,
  author =	{Almagor, Shaull and Cohen, Nathann and P\'{e}rez, Guillermo A. and Shirmohammadi, Mahsa and Worrell, James},
  title =	{{Coverability in 1-VASS with Disequality Tests}},
  booktitle =	{31st International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2020)},
  pages =	{38:1--38:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-160-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2020},
  volume =	{171},
  editor =	{Konnov, Igor and Kov\'{a}cs, Laura},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2020.38},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-128501},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2020.38},
  annote =	{Keywords: Reachability, Vector addition systems with states, Weighted graphs}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2020.39
Strategy Complexity of Parity Objectives in Countable MDPs

Authors: Stefan Kiefer, Richard Mayr, Mahsa Shirmohammadi, and Patrick Totzke

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 171, 31st International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2020)

Abstract
We study countably infinite MDPs with parity objectives. Unlike in finite MDPs, optimal strategies need not exist, and may require infinite memory if they do. We provide a complete picture of the exact strategy complexity of ε-optimal strategies (and optimal strategies, where they exist) for all subclasses of parity objectives in the Mostowski hierarchy. Either MD-strategies, Markov strategies, or 1-bit Markov strategies are necessary and sufficient, depending on the number of colors, the branching degree of the MDP, and whether one considers ε-optimal or optimal strategies. In particular, 1-bit Markov strategies are necessary and sufficient for ε-optimal (resp. optimal) strategies for general parity objectives.
Cite as

Stefan Kiefer, Richard Mayr, Mahsa Shirmohammadi, and Patrick Totzke. Strategy Complexity of Parity Objectives in Countable MDPs. In 31st International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2020). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 171, pp. 39:1-39:17, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2020)

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@InProceedings{kiefer_et_al:LIPIcs.CONCUR.2020.39,
  author =	{Kiefer, Stefan and Mayr, Richard and Shirmohammadi, Mahsa and Totzke, Patrick},
  title =	{{Strategy Complexity of Parity Objectives in Countable MDPs}},
  booktitle =	{31st International Conference on Concurrency Theory (CONCUR 2020)},
  pages =	{39:1--39:17},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-160-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2020},
  volume =	{171},
  editor =	{Konnov, Igor and Kov\'{a}cs, Laura},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2020.39},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-128513},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CONCUR.2020.39},
  annote =	{Keywords: Markov decision processes, Parity objectives, Levy’s zero-one law}
}
Document
Invited Talk
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2020.3
How to Play in Infinite MDPs (Invited Talk)

Authors: Stefan Kiefer, Richard Mayr, Mahsa Shirmohammadi, Patrick Totzke, and Dominik Wojtczak

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 168, 47th International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2020)

Abstract
Markov decision processes (MDPs) are a standard model for dynamic systems that exhibit both stochastic and nondeterministic behavior. For MDPs with finite state space it is known that for a wide range of objectives there exist optimal strategies that are memoryless and deterministic. In contrast, if the state space is infinite, optimal strategies may not exist, and optimal or ε-optimal strategies may require (possibly infinite) memory. In this paper we consider qualitative objectives: reachability, safety, (co-)Büchi, and other parity objectives. We aim at giving an introduction to a collection of techniques that allow for the construction of strategies with little or no memory in countably infinite MDPs.
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Stefan Kiefer, Richard Mayr, Mahsa Shirmohammadi, Patrick Totzke, and Dominik Wojtczak. How to Play in Infinite MDPs (Invited Talk). In 47th International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2020). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 168, pp. 3:1-3:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2020)

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@InProceedings{kiefer_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2020.3,
  author =	{Kiefer, Stefan and Mayr, Richard and Shirmohammadi, Mahsa and Totzke, Patrick and Wojtczak, Dominik},
  title =	{{How to Play in Infinite MDPs}},
  booktitle =	{47th International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2020)},
  pages =	{3:1--3:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-138-2},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2020},
  volume =	{168},
  editor =	{Czumaj, Artur and Dawar, Anuj and Merelli, Emanuela},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2020.3},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-124103},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2020.3},
  annote =	{Keywords: Markov decision processes}
}
Document
Track B: Automata, Logic, Semantics, and Theory of Programming
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2019.102
On the Complexity of Value Iteration (Track B: Automata, Logic, Semantics, and Theory of Programming)

Authors: Nikhil Balaji, Stefan Kiefer, Petr Novotný, Guillermo A. Pérez, and Mahsa Shirmohammadi

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 132, 46th International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2019)

Abstract
Value iteration is a fundamental algorithm for solving Markov Decision Processes (MDPs). It computes the maximal n-step payoff by iterating n times a recurrence equation which is naturally associated to the MDP. At the same time, value iteration provides a policy for the MDP that is optimal on a given finite horizon n. In this paper, we settle the computational complexity of value iteration. We show that, given a horizon n in binary and an MDP, computing an optimal policy is EXPTIME-complete, thus resolving an open problem that goes back to the seminal 1987 paper on the complexity of MDPs by Papadimitriou and Tsitsiklis. To obtain this main result, we develop several stepping stones that yield results of an independent interest. For instance, we show that it is EXPTIME-complete to compute the n-fold iteration (with n in binary) of a function given by a straight-line program over the integers with max and + as operators. We also provide new complexity results for the bounded halting problem in linear-update counter machines.
Cite as

Nikhil Balaji, Stefan Kiefer, Petr Novotný, Guillermo A. Pérez, and Mahsa Shirmohammadi. On the Complexity of Value Iteration (Track B: Automata, Logic, Semantics, and Theory of Programming). In 46th International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2019). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 132, pp. 102:1-102:15, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2019)

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@InProceedings{balaji_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2019.102,
  author =	{Balaji, Nikhil and Kiefer, Stefan and Novotn\'{y}, Petr and P\'{e}rez, Guillermo A. and Shirmohammadi, Mahsa},
  title =	{{On the Complexity of Value Iteration}},
  booktitle =	{46th International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2019)},
  pages =	{102:1--102:15},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-109-2},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2019},
  volume =	{132},
  editor =	{Baier, Christel and Chatzigiannakis, Ioannis and Flocchini, Paola and Leonardi, Stefano},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2019.102},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-106782},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2019.102},
  annote =	{Keywords: Markov decision processes, Value iteration, Formal verification}
}
Document
Track B: Automata, Logic, Semantics, and Theory of Programming
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2019.119
Büchi Objectives in Countable MDPs (Track B: Automata, Logic, Semantics, and Theory of Programming)

Authors: Stefan Kiefer, Richard Mayr, Mahsa Shirmohammadi, and Patrick Totzke

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 132, 46th International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2019)

Abstract
We study countably infinite Markov decision processes with Büchi objectives, which ask to visit a given subset F of states infinitely often. A question left open by T.P. Hill in 1979 [Theodore Preston Hill, 1979] is whether there always exist epsilon-optimal Markov strategies, i.e., strategies that base decisions only on the current state and the number of steps taken so far. We provide a negative answer to this question by constructing a non-trivial counterexample. On the other hand, we show that Markov strategies with only 1 bit of extra memory are sufficient.
Cite as

Stefan Kiefer, Richard Mayr, Mahsa Shirmohammadi, and Patrick Totzke. Büchi Objectives in Countable MDPs (Track B: Automata, Logic, Semantics, and Theory of Programming). In 46th International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2019). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 132, pp. 119:1-119:14, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2019)

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@InProceedings{kiefer_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2019.119,
  author =	{Kiefer, Stefan and Mayr, Richard and Shirmohammadi, Mahsa and Totzke, Patrick},
  title =	{{B\"{u}chi Objectives in Countable MDPs}},
  booktitle =	{46th International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2019)},
  pages =	{119:1--119:14},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-109-2},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2019},
  volume =	{132},
  editor =	{Baier, Christel and Chatzigiannakis, Ioannis and Flocchini, Paola and Leonardi, Stefano},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2019.119},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-106959},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2019.119},
  annote =	{Keywords: Markov decision processes}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2018.125
Costs and Rewards in Priced Timed Automata

Authors: Martin Fränzle, Mahsa Shirmohammadi, Mani Swaminathan, and James Worrell

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 107, 45th International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2018)

Abstract
We consider Pareto analysis of reachable states of multi-priced timed automata (MPTA): timed automata equipped with multiple observers that keep track of costs (to be minimised) and rewards (to be maximised) along a computation. Each observer has a constant non-negative derivative which may depend on the location of the MPTA. We study the Pareto Domination Problem, which asks whether it is possible to reach a target location via a run in which the accumulated costs and rewards Pareto dominate a given objective vector. We show that this problem is undecidable in general, but decidable for MPTA with at most three observers. For MPTA whose observers are all costs or all rewards, we show that the Pareto Domination Problem is PSPACE-complete. We also consider an epsilon-approximate Pareto Domination Problem that is decidable without restricting the number and types of observers. We develop connections between MPTA and Diophantine equations. Undecidability of the Pareto Domination Problem is shown by reduction from Hilbert's 10^{th} Problem, while decidability for three observers is shown by a translation to a fragment of arithmetic involving quadratic forms.
Cite as

Martin Fränzle, Mahsa Shirmohammadi, Mani Swaminathan, and James Worrell. Costs and Rewards in Priced Timed Automata. In 45th International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2018). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 107, pp. 125:1-125:14, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2018)

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@InProceedings{franzle_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2018.125,
  author =	{Fr\"{a}nzle, Martin and Shirmohammadi, Mahsa and Swaminathan, Mani and Worrell, James},
  title =	{{Costs and Rewards in Priced Timed Automata}},
  booktitle =	{45th International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2018)},
  pages =	{125:1--125:14},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-076-7},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2018},
  volume =	{107},
  editor =	{Chatzigiannakis, Ioannis and Kaklamanis, Christos and Marx, D\'{a}niel and Sannella, Donald},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2018.125},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-91297},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2018.125},
  annote =	{Keywords: Priced Timed Automata, Pareto Domination, Diophantine Equations}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2016.103
On Restricted Nonnegative Matrix Factorization

Authors: Dmitry Chistikov, Stefan Kiefer, Ines Marusic, Mahsa Shirmohammadi, and James Worrell

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 55, 43rd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2016)

Abstract
Nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) is the problem of decomposing a given nonnegative n*m matrix M into a product of a nonnegative n*d matrix W and a nonnegative d*m matrix H. Restricted NMF requires in addition that the column spaces of M and W coincide. Finding the minimal inner dimension d is known to be NP-hard, both for NMF and restricted NMF. We show that restricted NMF is closely related to a question about the nature of minimal probabilistic automata, posed by Paz in his seminal 1971 textbook. We use this connection to answer Paz's question negatively, thus falsifying a positive answer claimed in 1974. Furthermore, we investigate whether a rational matrix M always has a restricted NMF of minimal inner dimension whose factors W and H are also rational. We show that this holds for matrices M of rank at most 3 and we exhibit a rank-4 matrix for which W and H require irrational entries.
Cite as

Dmitry Chistikov, Stefan Kiefer, Ines Marusic, Mahsa Shirmohammadi, and James Worrell. On Restricted Nonnegative Matrix Factorization. In 43rd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2016). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 55, pp. 103:1-103:14, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2016)

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@InProceedings{chistikov_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2016.103,
  author =	{Chistikov, Dmitry and Kiefer, Stefan and Marusic, Ines and Shirmohammadi, Mahsa and Worrell, James},
  title =	{{On Restricted Nonnegative Matrix Factorization}},
  booktitle =	{43rd International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2016)},
  pages =	{103:1--103:14},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-013-2},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2016},
  volume =	{55},
  editor =	{Chatzigiannakis, Ioannis and Mitzenmacher, Michael and Rabani, Yuval and Sangiorgi, Davide},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2016.103},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-62389},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2016.103},
  annote =	{Keywords: nonnegative matrix factorization, nonnegative rank, probabilistic automata, labelled Markov chains, minimization}
}
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