Abstract logical model checking of infinite-state systems using narrowing

A concurrent system can be naturally specified as a rewrite theory R = (∑,E,R) where states are elements of the initial algebra T∑/E and concurrent transitions are axiomatized by the rewrite rules R. Under simple conditions, narrowing with rules R modulo equations E can be used to symbolically represent the system's state space by means of terms with logical variables. We call this symbolic representation a logical state space and it can also be used for model checking verification of LTL properties. Since in general such a logical state space can be infinite, we propose several abstraction techniques for obtaining either an over-approximation or an underapproximation of the logical state space: (i) a folding abstraction that collapses patterns into more general ones, (ii) an easy-to-check method to define (bisimilar) equational abstractions, and (iii) an iterated bounded model checking method that can detect if a logical state space within a given bound is complete. We also show that folding abstractions can be faithful for safety LTL properties, so that they do not generate any spurious counterexamples. These abstraction methods can be used in combination and, as we illustrate with examples, can be effective in making the logical state space finite. We have implemented these techniques in the Maude system, providing the first narrowing-based LTL model checker we are aware of.