Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: A famous result by Milner is that the lambda-calculus can be simulated inside the pi-calculus. This simulation, however, holds only modulo strong bisimilarity on processes, i.e. there is a slight mismatch between beta-reduction and how it is simulated in the pi-calculus. The idea is that evaluating a lambda-term in the pi-calculus is like running an environment-based abstract machine, rather than applying ordinary beta-reduction. In this paper we show that such an abstract-machine evaluation corresponds to linear weak head reduction, a strategy arising from the representation of lambda-terms as linear logic proof nets, and that the relation between the two is as tight as it can be. The study is also smoothly rephrased in the call-by-value case, introducing a call-by-value analogous of linear weak head reduction.
DOI: 10.4204/eptcs.110.6
Author: Beniamino Accattoli
Institution: Carnegie Mellon University
Language: English
Subfield: Artificial Intelligence
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W2084640400