The authors are ordered alphabetically
Concurrent Permissive Strategy Templates |
2026 |
| Ashwani Anand, Christel Baier, Calvin Chau, Sascha Klüppelholz, Ali Mirzaei, Satya Prakash Nayak, and Anne-Kathrin Schmuck | |
| TACAS Abstract arXiv Artefact | |
Two-player games on finite graphs provide a rigorous foundation for modeling the strategic interaction between reactive systems and their environment. While concurrent game semantics naturally capture the synchronous interactions characteristic of many cyber-physical systems (CPS), their adoption in CPS design remains limited. Building on the concept of permissive strategy templates (PeSTels) for turn-based games, we introduce concurrent (permissive) strategy templates (ConSTels) – a novel representation for sets of randomized winning strategies in concurrent games with Safety, Büchi, and Co-Büchi objectives. ConSTels compactly encode infinite families of strategies, thereby supporting both offline and online adaptation. Offline, we exploit compositionality to enable incremental synthesis: combining ConSTels for simpler objectives into non-conflicting templates for more complex (multi-color) parity objectives. Online, we demonstrate how ConSTels facilitate runtime adaptation, adjusting action probabilities in response to observed opponent behavior to optimize performance while preserving correctness. We implemented ConSTel synthesis and adaptation in a prototype tool and experimentally show its potential.
Certificates and Witnesses for Multi-objective ω-regular Queries in Markov Decision Processes |
2025 |
| Christel Baier, Calvin Chau, Volodymyr Drobitko, Simon Jantsch, and Sascha Klüppelholz | |
| SEFM Abstract Paper arXiv Artefact | |
Multi-objective probabilistic model checking is a powerful technique for verifying stochastic systems against multiple (potentially conflicting) properties. To enhance the trustworthiness and explainability of model checking tools, we present independently checkable certificates and witnesses for multi-objective omega-regular queries in Markov decision processes. For the certification, we extend and improve existing certificates for the decomposition of maximal end components and reachability properties. We then derive mixed-integer linear programs (MILPs) for finding minimal witnessing subsystems. For the special case of Markov chains and LTL properties, we use unambiguous Büchi automata to find witnesses, resulting in an algorithm that requires single-exponential space. Existing approaches based on deterministic automata require doubly-exponential space in the worst case. Finally, we consider the practical computation of our certificates and witnesses and provide an implementation of the developed techniques, along with an experimental evaluation, demonstrating the efficacy of our techniques.
Certificates and Witnesses for Multi-objective Queries in Markov Decision Processes |
2024 |
| Christel Baier, Calvin Chau, and Sascha Klüppelholz | |
| Outstanding Artifact Award·Invited to Special Issue | |
| QEST+FORMATS Abstract Paper arXiv Artefact | |
Certifying verification algorithms not only return whether a given property holds or not, but also provide an accompanying independently checkable certificate and a corresponding witness. The certificate can be used to easily validate the correctness of the result and the witness provides useful diagnostic information, e.g. for debugging purposes. Thus, certificates and witnesses substantially increase the trustworthiness and understandability of the verification process. In this work, we consider certificates and witnesses for multi-objective reachability-invariant and mean-payoff queries in Markov decision processes, that is conjunctions or disjunctions either of reachability and invariant or mean-payoff predicates, both universally and existentially quantified. Thereby, we generalize previous works on certificates and witnesses for single reachability and invariant constraints. To this end, we turn known linear programming techniques into certifying algorithms and show that witnesses in the form of schedulers and subsystems can be obtained. As a proof-of-concept, we report on implementations of certifying verification algorithms and experimental results.
Syntactic vs Semantic Linear Abstraction and Refinement of Neural Networks |
2023 |
| Calvin Chau, Stefanie Mohr, and Jan Křetínský | |
| ATVA Abstract Paper arXiv GitHub | |
Abstraction is a key verification technique to improve scalability. However, its use for neural networks is so far extremely limited. Previous approaches for abstracting classification networks replace several neurons with one of them that is similar enough. We can classify the similarity as defined either syntactically (using quantities on the connections between neurons) or semantically (on the activation values of neurons for various inputs). Unfortunately, the previous approaches only achieve moderate reductions, when implemented at all. In this work, we provide a more flexible framework, where a neuron can be replaced with a linear combination of other neurons, improving the reduction. We apply this approach both on syntactic and semantic abstractions, and implement and evaluate them experimentally. Further, we introduce a refinement method for our abstractions, allowing for finding a better balance between reduction and precision.
SeQuaiA: A Scalable Tool for Semi-Quantitative Analysis of Chemical Reaction Networks |
2020 |
| Milan Češka, Calvin Chau, and Jan Křetínský | |
| CAV Abstract Paper Preprint Website | |
Chemical reaction networks (CRNs) play a fundamental role in analysis and design of biochemical systems. They induce continuous-time stochastic systems, whose analysis is a computationally intensive task. We present a tool that implements the recently proposed semi-quantitative analysis of CRN. Compared to the proposed theory, the tool implements the analysis so that it is more flexible and more precise. Further, its GUI offers a wide range of visualization procedures that facilitate the interpretation of the analysis results as well as guidance to refine the analysis. Finally, we define and implement a new notion of “mean” simulations, summarizing the typical behaviours of the system in a way directly comparable to standard simulations produced by other tools.
Certificates and Witnesses for Multi-objective Queries in Markov Decision Processes |
2025 |
| Christel Baier, Calvin Chau, and Sascha Klüppelholz | |
| Performance Evaluation Abstract Paper | |
Probabilistic model checking is a technique for formally verifying the correctness of probabilistic systems w.r.t. given specifications. Typically, a model checking procedure outputs whether a specification is satisfied or not, but does not provide additional insights on the correctness of the result, thereby diminishing the trustworthiness and understandability of the verification process. In this work, we consider certifying verification algorithms that also provide an independently checkable certificate and witness in addition to the verification result. The certificate can be used to easily validate the correctness of the result and the witness provides useful diagnostic information, e.g. for debugging purposes. More specifically, we study certificates and witnesses for specifications in the form of multi-objective queries in Markov decision processes. We first consider multi-objective reachability and invariant queries and then extend our techniques to mean-payoff expectation and mean-payoff percentile queries. Thereby, we generalize previous works on certificates and witnesses for single reachability and invariant constraints. In essence, we derive certifying verification algorithms from known linear programming techniques and show that witnesses, both in the form of schedulers and subsystems, can be obtained from the certificates. As a proof-of-concept, we report on an implementation of our certifying verification algorithms and present experimental results, demonstrating the applicability on moderately-sized case studies.
Certificates and Witnesses for Multi-objective Queries in Markov Decision Processes |
2025 |
| Seminar on Foundations of Computing, Brno, Czech Republic | |
Certificates and Witnesses for Multi-objective ω-regular Queries in Markov Decision Processes |
2025 |
| SEFM, Toledo, Spain | |
Certificates and Witnesses for Multi-objective Queries in Markov Decision Processes |
2024 |
| CONFEST, Calgary, Canada | |
Towards A Unified Interface For Modern Probabilistic Model Checking Tools |
2024 |
| Dagstuhl Research Meeting, Saarbrücken, Germany | |
Certificates for Multi-Objective Queries in Markov Decision Processes |
2023 |
| ROCKS, Saarbrücken, Germany | |
Semantic Abstraction of Neural Networks |
2023 |
| LiVe @ ETAPS, Paris, France | |
Verification of Neural Networks |
2022 |
| Joint DIMEA and FORMELA seminar, Brno, Czech Republic | |
SeQuaiA: Semi-Quantitative Analysis of Chemical Reaction Networks |
2020 |
| Poster Session @ CMSB, Konstanz, Germany (Online) | |
SeQuaiA: A Scalable Tool for Semi-Quantitative Analysis of Chemical Reaction Networks |
2020 |
| CAV, Los Angeles, USA (Online) | |