Gallier, Jean H

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 38
  • Publication
    Realizability, Covers, and Sheaves I. Application to the Simply-Typed Lambda-Calculus
    (1993-08-12) Gallier, Jean H
    We present a general method for proving properties of typed λ-terms. This method is obtained by introducing a semantic notion of realizability which uses the notion of a cover algebra (as in abstract sheaf theory, a cover algebra being a Grothendieck topology in the case of a preorder). For this, we introduce a new class of semantic structures equipped with preorders, called pre-applicative structures. These structures need not be extensional. In this framework, a general realizability theorem can be shown. Kleene's recursive realizability and a variant of Kreisel's modified realizability both fit into this framework. Applying this theorem to the special case of the term model, yields a general theorem for proving properties of typed λ-terms, in particular, strong normalization and confluence. This approach clarifies the reducibility method by showing that the closure conditions on candidates of reducibility can be viewed as sheaf conditions. Part I of this paper applies the above approach to the simply-typed λ-calculus (with types →, ×, +, and ⊥). Part II of this paper deals with the second-order (polymorphic) λ-calculus (with types → and ∀).
  • Publication
    On the Correspondence Between Proofs and Lambda-Terms
    (1993-05-27) Gallier, Jean H
    The correspondence between natural deduction proofs and λ-terms is presented and discussed. A variant of the reducibility method is presented, and a general theorem for establishing properties of typed (first-order) λ-terms is proved. As a corollary, we obtain a simple proof of the Church-Rosser property, and of the strong normalization property, for the typed λ-calculus associated with the system of (intuitionistic) first-order natural deduction, including all the connectors →, ×, +, ∀,∃ and ⊥ (falsity) (with or without η-like rules).
  • Publication
    Typing Untyped Lambda-Terms, or Reducibility Strikes Again!
    (1994-12-07) Gallier, Jean H
    It was observed by Curry that when (untyped) λ-terms can be assigned types, for example, simple types, these terms have nice properties (for example, they are strongly normalizing). Coppo, Dezani, and Veneri, introduced type systems using conjunctive types, and showed that several important classes of (untyped) terms can be characterized according to the shape of the types that can be assigned to these terms. For example, the strongly normalizable terms, the normalizable terms, and the terms having head-normal forms, can be characterized in some systems D and DΩ. The proofs use variants of the method of reducibility. In this paper, we present a uniform approach for proving several meta-theorems relating properties of λ-terms and their typability in the systems D and DΩ. Our proofs use a new and more modular version of the reducibility method. As an application of our metatheorems, we show how the characterizations obtained by Coppo, Dezani, Veneri, and Pottinger, can be easily rederived. We also characterize the terms that have weak head-normal forms, which appears to be new. We conclude by stating a number of challenging open problems regarding possible generalizations of the realizability method.
  • Publication
    Proving Properties of Typed Lambda Terms Using Realizability, Covers, and Sheaves
    (1995-09-01) Gallier, Jean H
    The main purpose of this paper is to take apart the reducibility method in order to understand how its pieces fit together, and in particular, to recast the conditions on candidates of reducibility as sheaf conditions. There has been a feeling among experts on this subject that it should be possible to present the reducibility method using more semantic means, and that a deeper understanding would then be gained. This paper gives mathematical substance to this feeling, by presenting a generalization of the reducibility method based on a semantic notion of realizability which uses the notion of a cover algebra (as in abstract sheaf theory). A key technical ingredient is the introduction of a new class of semantic structures equipped with preorders, called pre-applicative structures. These structures need not be extensional. In this framework, a general realizability theorem can be shown. Kleene's recursive realizability and a variant of Kreisel's modified realizability both fit into this framework. We are then able to prove a meta-theorem which shows that if a property of realizers satisfies some simple conditions, then it holds for the semantic interpretations of all terms. Applying this theorem to the special case of the term model, yields a general theorem for proving properties of typed λ-terms, in particular, strong normalization and confluence. This approach clarifies the reducibility method by showing that the closure conditions on candidates of reducibility can be viewed as sheaf conditions. The above approach is applied to the simply-typed λ-calculus (with types →, x, +, and ┴), and to the second-order (polymorphic) λ-calculus (with types → and ∀2), for which it yields a new theorem.
  • Publication
    The Classification Theorem for Compact Surfaces and a Detour on Fractals
    (2007-10-22) Gallier, Jean H.
    In the words of Milnor himself, the classification theorem for compact surfaces is a formidable result. According to Massey, this result was obtained in the early 1920’s and was the culmination of the work of many. Indeed, a rigorous proof requires, among other things, a precise definition of a surface and of orientability, a precise notion of triangulation, and a precise way of determining whether two surfaces are homeomorphic or not. This requires some notions of algebraic topology such as, fundamental groups, homology groups, and the Euler-Poincaré characteristic. Most steps of the proof are rather involved and it is easy to loose track. The purpose of these notes is to present a fairly complete proof of the classification Theorem for compact surfaces. Other presentations are often quite informal (see the references in Chapter V) and we have tried to be more rigorous. Our main source of inspiration is the beautiful book on Riemann Surfaces by Ahlfors and Sario. However, Ahlfors and Sario’s presentation is very formal and quite compact. As a result, uninitiated readers will probably have a hard time reading this book. Our goal is to help the reader reach the top of the mountain and help him not to get lost or discouraged too early. This is not an easy task! We provide quite a bit of topological background material and the basic facts of algebraic topology needed for understanding how the proof goes, with more than an impressionistic feeling. We hope that these notes will be helpful to readers interested in geometry, and who still believe in the rewards of serious hiking!
  • Publication
    Unification Procedures in Automated Deduction Methods Based on Matings: A Survey
    (1991-10-01) Gallier, Jean H
    Unification procedures arising in methods for automated theorem proving based on matings are surveyed. We begin by reviewing some fundamentals of automated deduction, including the Skolem form and the Skolem-Herbrand-Gödel theorem. Next, the method of matings for first-order languages without equality due to Andrews and Bibel is presented. Standard unification is described in terms of transformations on systems (following the approach of Martelli and Montanari, anticipated by Herbrand). Some fast unification algorithms are also sketched, in particular, a unification closure algorithm inspired by Paterson and Wegman's method. The method of matings is then extended to languages with equality. This extention leads naturally to a generalization of standard unification called rigid E-unification (due to Gallier, Narendran, Plaisted, and Snyder). The main properties of rigid E-unification, decidability, NP-completeness, and finiteness of complete sets, are discussed.
  • Publication
    Typing untyped λ-terms, or Reducibility strikes again!
    (1995-12-01) Gallier, Jean H
    It was observed by Curry that when (untyped) λ -terms can be assigned types,for example,simple types,these terms have nice properties (for example, they are strongly normalizing. Coppo, Dezani, and Veneri, introduced type systems using conjunctive types, and showed that several important classes of (untyped) terms can be characterized according to the shape of the types that can be assigned to these terms. For example, the strongly ormalizable terms, the normalizable terms, and the terms having head-normal forms, can be characterized in some systems D and DΩ. The proofs use variants of the method of reducibility. In this paper, we present a uniform approach for proving several meta-theorems relating properties of λ-terms and their typability in the systems D and DΩ. Our proofs use a new and more modular version of the reducibility method. As an application of our metatheorems, we show how the characterizations obtained by Coppo, Dezani, Veneri, and Pottinger, can be easily rederived. We also characterize the terms that have weak headnormal forms, which appears to be new. We conclude by stating a number of challenging open problems regarding possible generalizations of the realizability method.
  • Publication
    Theorem Proving Using Equational Matings and Rigid E-Unifications
    (1992-07-21) Gallier, Jean H; Narendran, Paliath; Raatz, Stan; Snyder, Wayne
    In this paper, it is shown that the method of matings due to Andrews and Bibel can be extended to (first-order) languages with equality. A decidable version of E-unification called rigid E-unification is introduced, and it is shown that the method of equational matings remains complete when used in conjunction with rigid E-unification. Checking that a family of mated sets is an equational mating is equivalent to the following restricted kind of E-unification. Problem: Given →/E = {Ei | 1 ≤ i ≤ n} a family of n finite sets of equations and S = {〈ui, vi〉 | 1 ≤ i ≤ n} a set of n pairs of terms, is there a substitution θ such that, treating each set θ(Ei) as a set of ground equations (i.e. holding the variables in θ(Ei) "rigid"), θ(ui) and θ(vi) are provably equal from θ(Ei) for i = 1, ... ,n? Equivalently, is there a substitution θ such that θ(ui) and θ(vi) can be shown congruent from θ(Ei) by the congruence closure method for i 1, ... , n? A substitution θ solving the above problem is called a rigid →/E-unifier of S, and a pair (→/E, S) such that S has some rigid →/E-unifier is called an equational premating. It is shown that deciding whether a pair 〈→/E, S〉 is an equational premating is an NP-complete problem.
  • Publication
    Constructive Logics Part I: A Tutorial on Proof Systems and Typed Lambda-Calculi
    (1991-10-01) Gallier, Jean H
    The purpose of this paper is to give an exposition of material dealing with constructive logic, typed λ-calculi, and linear logic. The emergence in the past ten years of a coherent field of research often named "logic and computation" has had two major (and related) effects: firstly, it has rocked vigorously the world of mathematical logic; secondly, it has created a new computer science discipline, which spans from what is traditionally called theory of computation, to programming language design. Remarkably, this new body of work relies heavily on some "old" concepts found in mathematical logic, like natural deduction, sequent calculus, and λ-calculus (but often viewed in a different light), and also on some newer concepts. Thus, it may be quite a challenge to become initiated to this new body of work (but the situation is improving, there are now some excellent texts on this subject matter). This paper attempts to provide a coherent and hopefully "gentle" initiation to this new body of work. We have attempted to cover the basic material on natural deduction, sequent calculus, and typed λ-calculus, but also to provide an introduction to Girard's linear logic, one of the most exciting developments in logic these past five years. The first part of these notes gives an exposition of background material (with the exception of the Girard-translation of classical logic into intuitionistic logic, which is new). The second part is devoted to linear logic and proof nets.
  • Publication
    What's So Special About Kruskal's Theorem and the Ordinal To? A Survey of Some Results in Proof Theory
    (1993-09-30) Gallier, Jean H
    This paper consists primarily of a survey of results of Harvey Friedman about some proof theoretic aspects of various forms of Krusal's tree theorem, and in particular the connection with the ordinal Ƭo. We also include a fairly extensive treatment of normal functions on the countable ordinals, and we give a glimpse of Veblen Hierarchies, some subsystems of second-order logic, slow-growing and fast-growing hierarchies including Girard's result, and Goodstein sequences. The central theme of this paper is a powerful theorem due to Kruskal, the "tree theorem", as well as a "finite miniaturization" of Kruskal's theorem due to Harvey Friedman. These versions of Kruskal's theorem are remarkable from a proof-theoretic point of view because they are not provable in relatively strong logical systems. They are examples of so-called "natural independence phenomena", which are considered by more logicians as more natural than the mathematical incompleteness results first discovered by Gödel. Kruskal's tree theorem also plays a fundamental role in computer science, because it is one of the main tools for showing that certain orderings on trees are well founded. These orderings play a crucial role in proving the termination of systems of rewrite rules and the correctness of Knuth-Bandix completion procedures. There is also a close connection between a certain infinite countable ordinal called Ƭoand Kruskal's theorem. Previous definitions of the function involved in this connection are known to be incorrect, in that, the function is not monotonic. We offer a repaired definition of this function, and explore briefly the consequences of its existence.