Work

Transition‑Based Acceptance for ω‑Regular Expression Synthesis

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Reactive systems, which maintain ongoing interactions with their environment, are typically modeled using ω-regular languages. These languages characterize system behavior with infinite-length execution traces and are represented as nondeterministic Büchi automata (NBAs) or ω-regular expressions. Existing methods for synthesizing expressions from NBAs only handle state-based acceptance. This limitation forces the conversion of compact transition-based NBAs into larger state-based NBAs before synthesis. This article introduces the first direct synthesis method for ω-regular expressions from transition-based NBAs, eliminating the need for this transformation. The method works by decomposing an NBA into triplets of nondeterministic finite automata, subsuming existing pair-based decompositions to handle transition-based acceptance. We prove that our decomposition is correct, establishing our method’s soundness and completeness. We discuss the time and descriptional complexity of our method. Our empirical evaluation on 185 linear temporal logic formulas supports our hypothesis; transition-based synthesis reduces postfix size by 4.1× and 1.5× for recurrence and reactivity properties, respectively. We also analyze the structural NBA factors that determine when the transition-based NBA will yield a more compact expression and develop this into a simple criterion that, when applied, yields expressions that are at least as compact as those obtained by direct state-based synthesis.

Source: Formal Aspects of Computing

DOI: 10.1145/3803799

Authors: Charles Pert, Dalal Alrajeh, Alessandra Russo

Institution: Imperial College London

Language: English

Topic: semigroups and automata theory

Subfield: Computational Theory and Mathematics

Field: Computer Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,780

Funder: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council