Simulations and bisimulations are ubiquitous in the study of concurrent systems and modal logics of various types. Besides classical relational transition systems, relevant system types include, for instance, probabilistic, weighted, neighbourhood-based, and game-based systems. Universal coalgebra abstracts system types in this sense as set functors. Notions of (bi)simulation then arise by extending the functor to act on relations in a suitable manner, turning it into what may be termed a relator. We contribute to the study of relators in the broadest possible sense, in particular in relation to their induced notions of (bi)similarity. Specifically, (i) we show that every functor that preserves a very restricted type of pullbacks (termed 1/4-iso pullbacks) admits a sound and complete notion of bisimulation induced by the coBarr relator; (ii) we establish equivalences between properties of relators and closure properties of the induced notion of (bi)simulation, showing in particular that the full set of expected closure properties requires the relator to be a lax extension, and that soundness of (bi)simulations requires preservation of diagonals; and (iii) we show that functors preserving inverse images admit a greatest lax extension. In a concluding case study, we apply (iii) to obtain a novel highly permissive notion of twisted bisimulation on labelled transition systems.

Generic notions of bisimulation for various types of systems (nondeterministic, probabilistic, weighted etc.) rely on identity-preserving (normal) lax extensions of the functor encapsulating the system type, in the paradigm of universal coalgebra. It is known that preservation of weak pullbacks is a sufficient condition for a functor to admit a normal lax extension (the Barr extension, which in fact is then even strict); in the converse direction, nothing is currently known about necessary (weak) pullback preservation conditions for the existence of normal lax extensions. In the present work, we narrow this gap by showing on the one hand that functors admitting a normal lax extension preserve 1/4-iso pullbacks, i.e. pullbacks in which at least one of the projections is an isomorphism. On the other hand, we give sufficient conditions, showing that a functor admits a normal lax extension if it weakly preserves either 1/4-iso pullbacks and 4/4-epi pullbacks (i.e. pullbacks in which all morphisms are epic) or inverse images. We apply these criteria to concrete examples, in particular to functors modelling neighbourhood systems and weighted systems.

Abstract Lax extensions of set functors play a key role in various areas, including topology, concurrent systems, and modal logic, while predicate liftings provide a generic semantics of modal operators. We take a fresh look at the connection between lax extensions and predicate liftings from the point of view of quantale-enriched relations. Using this perspective, we show in particular that various fundamental concepts and results arise naturally and their proofs become very elementary. Ultimately, we prove that every lax extension is induced by a class of predicate liftings; we discuss several implications of this result.

The classical Hennessy-Milner theorem is an important tool in the analysis of concurrent processes; it guarantees that any two non-bisimilar states in finitely branching labelled transition systems can be distinguished by a modal formula. Numerous variants of this theorem have since been established for a wide range of logics and system types, including quantitative versions where lower bounds on behavioural distance (e.g.~in weighted, metric, or probabilistic transition systems) are witnessed by quantitative modal formulas. Both the qualitative and the quantitative versions have been accommodated within the framework of coalgebraic logic, with distances taking values in quantales, subject to certain restrictions, such as being so-called value quantales. While previous quantitative coalgebraic Hennessy-Milner theorems apply only to liftings of set functors to (pseudo-)metric spaces, in the present work we provide a quantitative coalgebraic Hennessy-Milner theorem that applies more widely to functors native to metric spaces; notably, we thus cover, for the first time, the well-known Hennessy-Milner theorem for continuous probabilistic transition systems, where transitions are given by Borel measures on metric spaces, as an instance. In the process, we also relax the restrictions imposed on the quantale, and additionally parametrize the technical account over notions of closure and, hence, density, providing associated variants of the Stone-Weierstrass theorem; this allows us to cover, for instance, behavioural ultrametrics.

Abstract Behavioural distances measure the deviation between states in quantitative systems, such as probabilistic or weighted systems. There is growing interest in generic approaches to behavioural distances. In particular, coalgebraic methods capture variations in the system type (nondeterministic, probabilistic, game-based etc.), and the notion of quantale abstracts over the actual values distances take, thus covering, e.g., two-valued equivalences, (pseudo)metrics, and probabilistic (pseudo)metrics. Coalgebraic behavioural distances have been based either on liftings of $$\textsf{Set}$$ Set -functors to categories of metric spaces, or on lax extensions of $$\textsf{Set}$$ Set -functors to categories of quantitative relations. Every lax extension induces a functor lifting but not every lifting comes from a lax extension. It was shown recently that every lax extension is Kantorovich, i.e. induced by a suitable choice of monotone predicate liftings, implying via a quantitative coalgebraic Hennessy-Milner theorem that behavioural distances induced by lax extensions can be characterized by quantitative modal logics. Here, we essentially show the same in the more general setting of behavioural distances induced by functor liftings. In particular, we show that every functor lifting, and indeed every functor on (quantale-valued) metric spaces, that preserves isometries is Kantorovich, so that the induced behavioural distance (on systems of suitably restricted branching degree) can be characterized by a quantitative modal logic.

Motivated by the need to reason about hybrid systems, we study limits in categories of coalgebras whose underlying functor is a Vietoris polynomial one – intuitively, the topological analogue of a Kripke polynomial functor. Among other results, we prove that every Vietoris polynomial functor admits a final coalgebra if it respects certain conditions concerning separation axioms and compactness. When the functor is restricted to some of the categories induced by these conditions, the resulting categories of coalgebras are even complete. As a practical application, we use these developments in the specification and analysis of non-deterministic hybrid systems, in particular to obtain suitable notions of stability and behaviour.

In this paper we investigate important categories lying strictly between the Kleisli category and the Eilenberg-Moore category, for a Kock-Z\"oberlein monad on an order-enriched category. Firstly, we give a characterisation of free algebras in the spirit of domain theory. Secondly, we study the existence of weighted (co)limits, both on the abstract level and for specific categories of domain theory like the category of algebraic lattices. Finally, we apply these results to give a description of the idempotent split completion of the Kleisli category of the filter monad on the category of topological spaces. Comment: small corrections

In this article we present methods of transition from one perspective on logic to others, and apply this in particular to obtain a coalgebraic presentation of logic. The central ingredient in this process is to view consequence relations as morphisms in a category.

We present an approach of enriching grown structures of teaching in German schools with innovative technology and collaborative software tools. Two applications for collaborative modelling and mind mapping will be introduced. Together with a community of secondary school teachers we have elaborated classroom experiments which give an added value but without redefining well suited pedagogic methods or changing the learning matters. We will present different experiences made by teachers and researchers in the domains of mathematics, biology and German language in secondary schools. We have found out that not only are teachers in science interested in computerised learning scenarios but there are several premises for a successful transfer of technology into schools.