CCS dynamic bisimulation is progressing

Abstract

Weak Observational Congruence (woc) defined on CCS agents is not a bisimulation since it does not reguire two states reached by bisimilar computations of woc agents to be still woc, e.g. α.τ.β.nil and α.β.nil are woc but τ.β.nil and β.nil are not. This fact prevents us from characterizing CCS semantics (when τ is considered invisible) as a final algebra, since the semantic function would induce an equivalence over the agents that is both a congruence and a bisimulation.

In the paper we introduce a new behavioural equivalence for CCS agents, which is the coarsest among those bisimulations which are also congruences. We call it Dynamic Observational Congruence because it expresses a natural notion of equivalence for concurrent systems required to simulate each other in the presence of dynamic, i.e. run time, (re)configurations. We provide an algebraic characterization of Dynamic Congruence in terms of a universal property of finality.

Furthermore we introduce Progressing Bisimulation, which forces processes to simulate each other performing explicit steps. We provide an algebraic characterization of it in terms of finality, two characterizations via modal logic in the style of HML, and a complete axiomatization for finite agents. Finally, we prove that Dynamic Congruence and Progressing Bisimulation coincide for CCS agents. Thus the title of the paper.

Research supported in part by HEWLETT-PACKARD Laboratories, Pisa Science Center.