Topological abstraction of higher-dimensional automata

Abstract

Higher-dimensional automata constitute a very expressive model for concurrent systems. In this paper, we discuss "topological abstraction" of higher-dimensional automata, i.e., the replacement of HDAs by smaller ones that can be considered equivalent from both a computer scientific and a topological point of view. By definition, topological abstraction preserves the homotopy type, the trace category, and the homology graph of an HDA. We establish conditions under which cube collapses yield topological abstractions of HDAs.