Generalization of terms via universal algebra

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Flaminio, Tommaso, Ugolini, Sara
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Flaminio, Tommaso
Ugolini, Sara
author_facet Flaminio, Tommaso
Ugolini, Sara
contents We provide a new foundational approach to the generalization of terms up to equational theories. We interpret generalization problems in a universal-algebraic setting making a key use of projective and exact algebras in the variety associated to the considered equational theory. We prove that the generality poset of a problem and its type (i.e., the cardinality of a complete set of least general solutions) can be studied in this algebraic setting. Moreover, we identify a class of varieties where the study of the generality poset can be fully reduced to the study of the congruence lattice of the 1-generated free algebra. We apply our results to varieties of algebras and to (algebraizable) logics. In particular we obtain several examples of unitary type: abelian groups; commutative monoids and commutative semigroups; all varieties whose 1-generated free algebra is trivial, e.g., lattices, semilattices, varieties without constants whose operations are idempotent; Boolean algebras, Kleene algebras, and Gödel algebras, which are the equivalent algebraic semantics of, respectively, classical, 3-valued Kleene, and Gödel-Dummett logic. Finally, we prove that the variety of MV-algebras, the equivalent algebraic semantics of Lukasiewicz logic, has nullary type.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_18259
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Generalization of terms via universal algebra
Flaminio, Tommaso
Ugolini, Sara
Logic
Logic in Computer Science
03G27, 03C05, 08A70
We provide a new foundational approach to the generalization of terms up to equational theories. We interpret generalization problems in a universal-algebraic setting making a key use of projective and exact algebras in the variety associated to the considered equational theory. We prove that the generality poset of a problem and its type (i.e., the cardinality of a complete set of least general solutions) can be studied in this algebraic setting. Moreover, we identify a class of varieties where the study of the generality poset can be fully reduced to the study of the congruence lattice of the 1-generated free algebra. We apply our results to varieties of algebras and to (algebraizable) logics. In particular we obtain several examples of unitary type: abelian groups; commutative monoids and commutative semigroups; all varieties whose 1-generated free algebra is trivial, e.g., lattices, semilattices, varieties without constants whose operations are idempotent; Boolean algebras, Kleene algebras, and Gödel algebras, which are the equivalent algebraic semantics of, respectively, classical, 3-valued Kleene, and Gödel-Dummett logic. Finally, we prove that the variety of MV-algebras, the equivalent algebraic semantics of Lukasiewicz logic, has nullary type.
title Generalization of terms via universal algebra
topic Logic
Logic in Computer Science
03G27, 03C05, 08A70
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.18259