Computing stuttering simulations

Abstract

Stuttering bisimulation is a well-known behavioural equivalence that preserves CTL-X, namely CTL without the next-time operator X. Correspondingly, the stuttering simulation preorder induces a coarser behavioural equivalence that preserves the existential fragment ECTL-{X,G}, namely ECTL without the next-time X and globally G operators. While stuttering bisimulation equivalence can be computed by the well-known Groote and Vaandrager's algorithm, to the best of our knowledge, no algorithm for computing the stuttering simulation preorder and equivalence is available. This paper presents such an algorithm for finite state systems. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.