A characterisation of open bisimilarity using an intuitionistic modal logic

Abstract

Open bisimilarity is a strong bisimulation congruence for the pi-calculus. In open bisimilarity, free names in processes are treated as variables that may be instantiated; in contrast to late bisimilarity where free names are constants. An established modal logic due to Milner, Parrow, and Walker characterises late bisimilarity, that is, two processes satisfy the same set of formulae if and only if they are bisimilar. We propose an intuitionistic variation of this modal logic and prove that it characterises open bisimilarity. The soundness proof is mechanised in Abella. The completeness proof provides an algorithm for generating distinguishing formulae, useful for explaining and certifying whenever processes are non-bisimilar.