Abstract We show that the EXPSPACE-hardness result for structural liveness of Petri nets [Jančar and Purser, 2019] holds even for a simple subclass of conservative nets. As the main result we then show that for structurally live conservative nets the values of the least live markings are at most double exponential in the size of the nets, which entails the EXPSPACE-completeness of structural liveness for conservative Petri nets; the complexity of the general case remains unclear. As a proof ingredient with a potential of wider applicability, we present an extension of the known results bounding the smallest integer solutions of boolean combinations of linear (in)equations and divisibility constraints.

A set of configurations $H$ is a home-space for a set of configurations $X$ of aPetri net if every configuration reachable from (any configuration in) $X$ can reach (some configuration in) $H$. The semilinear home-space problem for Petri nets asks, given a Petri net and semilinear sets of configurations $X$, $H$, if $H$ is a home-space for $X$. In 1989, David de Frutos Escrig and Colette Johnen proved that the problem is decidable when $X$ is a singleton and $H$ is a finite union of linear sets with the same periods. In this paper, we show that the general (semilinear) problem is decidable. This result is obtained by proving a duality between the reachability problem and the non-home-space problem. In particular, we prove that for any Petri net and any semilinear set of configurations $H$ we can effectively compute a semilinear set $C$ of configurations, called a non-reachability core for $H$, such that for every set $X$ the set $H$ is not a home-space for $X$ if, and only if, $C$ is reachable from $X$. We show that the established relation to the reachability problem yields the Ackermann-completeness of the (semilinear) home-space problem. For this we also show that, given a Petri net with an initial marking, the set of minimal reachable markings can be constructed in Ackermannian time.

A set of configurations H is a home-space for a set of configurations X of a Petri net if every configuration reachable from (any configuration in) X can reach (some configuration in) H. The semilinear home-space problem for Petri nets asks, given a Petri net and semilinear sets of configurations X, H, if H is a home-space for X. In 1989, David de Frutos Escrig and Colette Johnen proved that the problem is decidable when X is a singleton and H is a finite union of linear sets with the same periods. In this paper, we show that the general (semilinear) problem is decidable. This result is obtained by proving a duality between the reachability problem and the non-home-space problem. In particular, we prove that for any Petri net and any linear set of configurations L we can effectively compute a semilinear set C of configurations, called a non-reachability core for L, such that for every set X the set L is not a home-space for X if, and only if, C is reachable from X. We show that the established relation to the reachability problem yields the Ackermann-completeness of the (semilinear) home-space problem. For this we also show that, given a Petri net with an initial marking, the set of minimal reachable markings can be constructed in Ackermannian time.

We look in detail at the structural liveness problem (SLP) for subclasses of Petri nets, namely immediate observation nets (IO nets) and their generalized variant called branching immediate multi-observation nets (BIMO nets), that were recently introduced by Esparza, Raskin, and Weil-Kennedy. We show that SLP is PSPACE-hard for IO nets and in PSPACE for BIMO nets. In particular, we discuss the (small) bounds on the token numbers in net places that are decisive for a marking to be (non)live. Comment: Final version

Petri nets are a popular formalism for modeling and analyzing distributed systems. Tokens in Petri net models can represent the control flow state or resources produced/consumed by transition firings. We define a resource as a part (a submultiset) of Petri net markings and call two resources equivalent when replacing one of them with another in any marking does not change the observable Petri net behavior. We consider resource similarity and resource bisimilarity, two congruent restrictions of bisimulation equivalence on Petri net markings. Previously it was proved that resource similarity (the largest congruence included in bisimulation equivalence) is undecidable. Here we present an algorithm for checking resource bisimilarity, thereby proving that this relation (the largest congruence included in bisimulation equivalence that is a bisimulation) is decidable. We also give an example of two resources in a Petri net that are similar but not bisimilar.

We introduce a new notion of 𝒞-simple problems for a class 𝒞 of decision problems (i.e. languages), w.r.t. a particular reduction. A problem is 𝒞-simple if it can be reduced to each problem in 𝒞. This can be viewed as a conceptual counterpart to 𝒞-hard problems to which all problems in 𝒞 reduce. Our concrete example is the class of non-regular deterministic context-free languages (DCFL'), with a truth-table reduction by Mealy machines. The main technical result is a proof that the DCFL' language L_# = {0^n1^n ∣ n ≥ 1} is DCFL'-simple, and can be thus viewed as one of the simplest languages in the class DCFL', in a precise sense. The notion of DCFL'-simple languages is nontrivial: e.g., the language L_R = {wcw^R∣ w ∈ {a,b}^*} is not DCFL'-simple. By describing an application in the area of neural networks (elaborated in another paper), we demonstrate that 𝒞-simple problems under suitable reductions can provide a tool for expanding the lower-bound results known for single problems to the whole classes of problems.

Checking whether two pushdown automata with restricted silent actions are weakly bisimilar was shown decidable by Sénizergues (1998, 2005). We provide the first known complexity upper bound for this famous problem, in the equivalent setting of first-order grammars. This ACKERMANN upper bound is optimal, and we also show that strong bisimilarity is primitive-recursive when the number of states of the automata is fixed.

The boundedness problem is a well-known exponential-space complete problem for vector addition systems with states (or Petri nets); it asks if the reachability set (for a given initial configuration) is finite. Here we consider a dual problem, the co-finiteness problem that asks if the complement o f the reachability set is finite; by restricting the question we get the co-emptiness (or universality) problem that asks if all configurations are reachable. We show that both the co-finiteness problem and the co-emptiness problem are exponential-space complete. While the lower bounds are obtained by a straightforward reduction from coverability, getting the upper bounds is more involved; in particular we use the bounds derived for reversible reachability by Leroux (2013). The studied problems were motivated by a result for structural liveness of Petri nets; this problem was shown decidable by Jančar (2017), without clarifying its complexity. The structural liveness problem is tightly related to a generalization of the co-emptiness problem, where the sets of initial configurations are (possibly infinite) downward closed sets instead of just singletons. We formulate the problems even more generally, for semilinear sets of initial configurations; in this case we show that the co-emptiness problem is decidable (without giving an upper complexity bound), and we formulate a conjecture under which the co-finiteness problem is also decidable.

We study the bisimilarity problem for probabilistic pushdown automata (pPDA) and subclasses thereof. Our definition of pPDA allows both probabilistic and non-deterministic branching, generalising the classical notion of pushdown automata (without epsilon-transitions). We first show a general characterization of probabilistic bisimilarity in terms of two-player games, which naturally reduces checking bisimilarity of probabilistic labelled transition systems to checking bisimilarity of standard (non-deterministic) labelled transition systems. This reduction can be easily implemented in the framework of pPDA, allowing to use known results for standard (non-probabilistic) PDA and their subclasses. A direct use of the reduction incurs an exponential increase of complexity, which does not matter in deriving decidability of bisimilarity for pPDA due to the non-elementary complexity of the problem. In the cases of probabilistic one-counter automata (pOCA), of probabilistic visibly pushdown automata (pvPDA), and of probabilistic basic process algebras (i.e., single-state pPDA) we show that an implicit use of the reduction can avoid the complexity increase; we thus get PSPACE, EXPTIME, and 2-EXPTIME upper bounds, respectively, like for the respective non-probabilistic versions. The bisimilarity problems for OCA and vPDA are known to have matching lower bounds (thus being PSPACE-complete and EXPTIME-complete, respectively); we show that these lower bounds also hold for fully probabilistic versions that do not use non-determinism.

Branching bisimilarity of normed Basic Process Algebra (nBPA) was claimed to be EXPTIME-hard in previous papers without any explicit proof. Recently it has been pointed out by Petr Jancar that the claim lacked proper justification. In this paper, we develop a new complete proof for the EXPTIME-hardness of branching bisimilarity of nBPA. We also prove that the associated regularity problem of nBPA is PSPACE-hard. This improves previous P-hard result.

The problem if a given configuration of a pushdown automaton (PDA) is bisimilar with some (unspecified) finite-state process is shown to be decidable. The decidability is proven in the framework of first-order grammars, which are given by finite sets of labelled rules that rewrite roots of first-order terms. The framework is equivalent to PDA where also deterministic popping epsilon-steps are allowed, i.e. to the model for which Senizergues showed an involved procedure deciding bisimilarity (FOCS 1998). Such a procedure is here used as a black-box part of the algorithm. For deterministic PDA the regularity problem was shown decidable by Valiant (JACM 1975) but the decidability question for nondeterministic PDA, answered positively here, had been open (as indicated, e.g., by Broadbent and Goeller, FSTTCS 2012).

Branching bisimilarity of nor med Basic Process Algebra (BPA) processes was shown to be decidable by Yuxi Fu (ICALP 2013) but his proof has not provided any upper complexity bound. We present a simpler approach based on relative prime decompositions that leads to a nondeterministic exponential-time algorithm, this is "close" to the known exponential-time lower bound. We also derive that semantic finiteness (the question if a given nor med BPA process is branching bisimilar with some finite-state process) belongs to NExpTime as well.

We prove that language equivalence of deterministic one-counter automata is NL-complete. This improves the superpolynomial time complexity upper bound shown by Valiant and Paterson in 1975. Our main contribution is to prove that two deterministic one-counter automata are inequivalent if and only if they can be distinguished by a word of length polynomial in the size of the two input automata.

We study the bisimilarity problem for probabilistic pushdown automata (pPDA) and subclasses thereof. Our definition of pPDA allows both probabilistic and non-deterministic branching, generalising the classical notion of pushdown automata (without epsilon-transitions). Our first contribution is a general construction that reduces checking bisimilarity of probabilistic transition systems to checking bisimilarity of non-deterministic transition systems. This construction directly yields decidability of bisimilarity for pPDA, as well as an elementary upper bound for the bisimilarity problem on the subclass of probabilistic basic process algebras, i.e., single-state pPDA. We further show that, with careful analysis, the general reduction can be used to prove an EXPTIME upper bound for bisimilarity of probabilistic visibly pushdown automata. Here we also provide a matching lower bound, establishing EXPTIME-completeness. Finally we prove that deciding bisimilarity of probabilistic one-counter automata, another subclass of pPDA, is PSPACE-complete. Here we use a more specialised argument to obtain optimal complexity bounds.

Decidability of language equivalence of deterministic pushdown automata (DPDA) was established by G. Senizergues (1997), who thus solved a famous long-standing open problem. A simplified proof, also providing a primitive recursive complexity upper bound, was given by C. Stirling (2002). In this paper, the decidability is re-proved in the framework of first-order terms and grammars (given by finite sets of root-rewriting rules). The proof is based on the abstract ideas used in the previous proofs, but the chosen framework seems to be more natural for the problem and allows a short presentation which should be transparent for a general computer science audience.

Stirling [1996, 1998] proved the decidability of bisimilarity on so-called normed pushdown processes. This result was substantially extended by Sénizergues [1998, 2005] who showed the decidability of bisimilarity for regular (or equational) graphs of finite out-degree; this essentially coincides with weak bisimilarity of processes generated by (unnormed) pushdown automata where the ε -transitions can only deterministically pop the stack. The question of decidability of bisimilarity for the more general class of so called Type -1 systems, which is equivalent to weak bisimilarity on unrestricted ε -popping pushdown processes, was left open. This was repeatedly indicated by both Stirling and Sénizergues. Here we answer the question negatively, that is, we show the undecidability of bisimilarity on Type -1 systems, even in the normed case. We achieve the result by applying a technique we call Defender's Forcing, referring to the bisimulation games. The idea is simple, yet powerful. We demonstrate its versatility by deriving further results in a uniform way. First, we classify several versions of the undecidable problems for prefix rewrite systems (or pushdown automata) as Π 0 1 -complete or Σ 1 1 -complete. Second, we solve the decidability question for weak bisimilarity on PA (Process Algebra) processes, showing that the problem is undecidable and even Σ 1 1 -complete. Third, we show Σ 1 1 -completeness of weak bisimilarity for so-called parallel pushdown (or multiset) automata, a subclass of (labeled, place/transition) Petri nets.

The paper presents a selection of recently developed and/or used techniques for equivalence-checking on infinite-state systems, and an up-to-date overview of existing results (as of September 2004).

The paper shows an algorithm which, given a basic parallel processes (BPP) system, constructs a set of linear mappings which characterize the (strong) bisimulation equivalence on the system. Though the number of the constructed mappings can be exponential, they can be generated in polynomial space; this shows that the problem of deciding bisimulation equivalence on BPP is in PSAPCE. Combining with the PSPACE-hardness result by Srba, PSPACE-completeness is thus established.