About this Research Topic
State-of-the-art advances in formal methods and widespread adoption of cloud computing has led to an increased interest in the use of parallel computing infrastructures to tackle the scalability limitations of formal methods. High-performance computing (HPC) is a key-enabler for scaling the applicability of formal methods to large and complex problems, besides fundamental algorithmic advances. HPC can enable both vertical scalability, e.g., running multiple “independent” tasks in parallel, and horizontal scalability, e.g., breaking up an individual task into smaller “co-dependent” parallel tasks. It is well-known that formal-methods algorithms are computationally-expensive, e.g., model checking, and major algorithmic advances are rare due to the inherent problem complexity. Therefore, the successful application of HPC to formal methods will take advantage of high-performance computing platforms for the verification of complex systems by utilizing parallel algorithms for verification and synthesis (e.g., parallel model checking algorithms), various divide-and-conquer decision procedures (e.g., parallel SAT solving), and parallel problem orchestration (e.g., efficient distribution of individual tasks across a compute cluster).
This Research Topic welcomes submissions of papers reporting both original research and case studies on algorithmic advances and the use of high-performance computing for scaling automated reasoning and application of formal methods in system verification and synthesis, and mathematical and logical foundations of parallel formal verification and synthesis algorithms including contributions discussing complexity and correctness guarantees of parallel algorithms. Topics of interest include (but are not limited to):
● Algorithms and tools for verifying models and implementations; including model-checking, theorem proving, runtime verification, and decision procedures
● Algorithms and tools for system synthesis; including software synthesis and reactive (discrete-time, timed, hybrid) synthesis
● Mathematical and logical foundations of scalable formal verification and synthesis algorithms; including complexity analysis, correctness guarantees, and performance improvements
● Case studies and experience reports on the use of high-performance computing in applying formal methods for system verification and synthesis.
Keywords: formal verification, formal synthesis, automated reasoning, decision procedures, parallel algorithms, theoretical foundations
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.