Equational abstractions

Abstraction reduces the problem of whether an infinite state system satisfies a temporal logic property to model checking that property on a finite state abstract version. The most common abstractions are quotients of the original system. We present a simple method of defining quotient abstractions by means of equations collapsing the set of states. Our method yields the minimal quotient system together with a set of proof obligations that guarantee its executability and can be discharged with tools such as those in the Maude formal environment.