Finite countermodels for safety verification of parameterized tree systems

Abstract: In this paper we deal with verification of safety properties of parameterized systems with a tree topology. The verification problem is translated to a purely logical problem of finding a finite countermodel for a first-order formula, which further resolved by a generic finite model finding procedure. A finite countermodel method is shown is at least as powerful as regular tree model checking and as the methods based on monotonic abstraction and backwards symbolic reachability. The practical efficiency of the method is illustrated on a set of examples taken from the literature.