SCTL: Towards Combining Model Checking and Proof Checking

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel approach that combines model checking and theorem proving to verify temporal properties of Kripke models automatically, producing counterexamples or certificates efficiently.

Contribution

It introduces an extended logic, a proof system, and a proof-search algorithm, along with an automated prover, enhancing verification capabilities in formal methods.

Findings

Verification is fully automatic with counterexamples or certificates.

The approach compares favorably with existing tools on benchmarks.

Application demonstrated in air traffic control scenarios.

Abstract

Model checking and automated theorem proving are two pillars of formal methods. This paper investigates model checking from an automated theorem proving perspective, aiming at combining the expressiveness of automated theorem proving and the complete automaticity of model checking. The focus of this paper is on the verification of temporal logic properties of Kripke models. The main contributions of this paper are: first the definition of an extended computation tree logic that allows polyadic predicate symbols, then a proof system for this logic, taking Kripke models as parameters, then, the design of a proof-search algorithm for this calculus and a new automated theorem prover to implement it. The verification process is completely automatic, and produces either a counterexample when the property does not hold, or a certificate when it does. The experimental result compares well to existing state-of-the-art tools on some benchmarks, including an application to air traffic control and the design choices that lead to this efficiency are discussed.