Hypernode automata

Abstract

In this work, we present hypernode automata as a specification formalism for hyperproperties of systems whose executions may be misaligned among themselves, such as concurrent systems. These automata consist of nodes labeled with hypernode logic formulas and transitions marked with synchronizing actions. Hypernode logic formulas establish relations between sequences of variable values among different system executions. This logic enables both synchronous and asynchronous analysis of traces. In its asynchronous view on execution traces, hypernode formulas establish relations on the order of value changes for each variable without correlating their timing. In both views, the analysis of different execution traces is synchronized through the transitions of hypernode automata. By combining logic’s declarative nature with automata’s procedural power, hypernode automata seamlessly integrate asynchronicity requirements at the node level with synchronicity between node transitions. We show that the model-checking problem for hypernode automata is decidable for specifications where each node specifies either a synchronous or an asynchronous requirement for the system’s executions, but not both.