Logic in Software, Dynamical and Biological Systems

Abstract

Formal methods is a key area within the Computer Science discipline. Formal methods is concerned with analyzing systems formally. Here, we focus on three different systems: software systems, dynamical control systems, and biological systems. Software systems are discrete-time systems, whereas control systems are continuous-time dynamical systems. Systems consisting of interaction between the two are called cyber-physical systems and their dynamics are given using a hybrid-time model. Biological systems are complex systems that have been modeled and analyzed as discrete, continuous, and hybrid dynamical systems. The analysis questions can be broadly classified into verification and synthesis questions. We focus on both these aspects here. Logic and logical methods play a key role in the tools and techniques across this whole range of systems and analyses.

Keywords: Biological system modeling, Mathematical model, Stochastic processes, Control systems, Analytical models, Cognition