Solving the Satisfiability Problem Through Boolean Networks

Abstract

In this paper we present a new approach to solve the satisfiability problem (SAT), based on boolean networks (BN). We define a mapping between a SAT instance and a BN, and we solve SAT problem by simulating the BN dynamics. We prove that BN fixed points correspond to the SAT solutions. The mapping presented allows to develop a new class of algorithms to solve SAT. Moreover, this new approach suggests new ways to combine symbolic and connectionist computation and provides a general framework for local search algorithms.