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1. Certified Knowledge Compilation with Application to Verified Model Counting

   https://doi.org/10.4230/LIPIcs.SAT.2023.6  

   Bryant, Randal E.; Nawrocki, Wojciech; Avigad, Jeremy; Heule, Marijn J. (January 2023, 26th International Conference on Theory and Applications of Satisfiability Testing)

   Mahajan, Meena; Slivovsky, Friedrich (Ed.)

   Computing many useful properties of Boolean formulas, such as their weighted or unweighted model count, is intractable on general representations. It can become tractable when formulas are expressed in a special form, such as the decision-decomposable, negation normal form (dec-DNNF) . Knowledge compilation is the process of converting a formula into such a form. Unfortunately existing knowledge compilers provide no guarantee that their output correctly represents the original formula, and therefore they cannot validate a model count, or any other computed value. We present Partitioned-Operation Graphs (POGs), a form that can encode all of the representations used by existing knowledge compilers. We have designed CPOG, a framework that can express proofs of equivalence between a POG and a Boolean formula in conjunctive normal form (CNF). We have developed a program that generates POG representations from dec-DNNF graphs produced by the state-of-the-art knowledge compiler D4, as well as checkable CPOG proofs certifying that the output POGs are equivalent to the input CNF formulas. Our toolchain for generating and verifying POGs scales to all but the largest graphs produced by D4 for formulas from a recent model counting competition. Additionally, we have developed a formally verified CPOG checker and model counter for POGs in the Lean 4 proof assistant. In doing so, we proved the soundness of our proof framework. These programs comprise the first formally verified toolchain for weighted and unweighted model counting. 

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2. Certifying Projected Knowledge Compilation

   https://doi.org/10.4230/LIPIcs.SAT.2025.8  

   Bryant, Randal E; Tan, Yong Kiam; Heule, Marijn_J H (January 2025, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik)

   Berg, Jeremias; Nordström, Jakob (Ed.)

   Knowledge compilers convert Boolean formulas, given in conjunctive normal form (CNF), into representations that enable efficient evaluation of unweighted and weighted model counts, as well as a variety of other useful properties. With projected knowledge compilation, the generated representation describes the restriction of the formula to a designated set of data variables, with the remaining ones eliminated by existential quantification. Projected knowledge compilation has applications in a variety of domains, including formal verification and synthesis. This paper describes a formally verified proof framework for certifying the output of a projected knowledge compiler. It builds on an earlier clausal proof framework for certifying the output of a standard knowledge compiler. Extending the framework to projected compilation requires a method to represent Skolem assignments, describing how the quantified variables can be assigned, given an assignment for the data variables. We do so by extending the representation generated by the knowledge compiler to also encode Skolem assignments. We also refine the earlier framework, moving beyond purely clausal proofs to enable scaling certification to larger formulas. We present experimental results obtained by making small modifications to the D4 projected knowledge compiler and extensions of our earlier proof generator. We detail a soundness argument stating that a compiler output that passes our certifier is logically equivalent to the quantified input formula; the soundness argument has been formally validated using the HOL4 proof assistant. The checker also ensures that the compiler output satisfies the properties required for efficient unweighted and weighted model counting. We have developed two proof checkers for the certification framework: one written in C and designed for high performance and one written in CakeML and formally verified in HOL4. 

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3. ZDD Boolean Synthesis

   Lin, Yi; Tabajara, Lucas M.; Vardi, Moshe Y. (April 2022, International Conference on Tools and Algorithms for the Construction and Analysis of Systems)

   Dana Fisman and Grigore Rosu (Ed.)

   Motivated by applications in boolean-circuit design, boolean synthesis is the process of synthesizing a boolean function with multiple outputs, given a relation between its inputs and outputs. Previous work has attempted to solve boolean functional synthesis by converting a specification formula into a Binary Decision Diagram (BDD) and quantifying existentially the output variables. We make use of the fact that the specification is usually given in the form of a Conjunctive Normal Form (CNF) formula, and we can perform resolution on a symbolic representation of a CNF formula in the form of a Zero-suppressed Binary Decision Diagram (ZDD). We adapt the realizability test to the context of CNF and ZDD, and show that the Cross operation defined in earlier work can be used for witness construction. Experiments show that our approach is complementary to BDD-based Boolean synthesis. 

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4. Clausal Proofs for Pseudo-Boolean Reasoning

   https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-99524-9_25  

   Bryant, Randal E.; Heule, Marijn J. (January 2022, International Conference on Tools and Algorithms for the Construction and Analysis of Systems)

   Fisman, D.; Rosu, G. (Ed.)

   When augmented with a Pseudo-Boolean (PB) solver, a Boolean satisfiability (SAT) solver can apply apply powerful reasoning methods to determine when a set of parity or cardinality constraints, extracted from the clauses of the input formula, has no solution. By converting the intermediate constraints generated by the PB solver into ordered binary decision diagrams (BDDs), a proof-generating, BDD-based SAT solver can then produce a clausal proof that the input formula is unsatisfiable. Working together, the two solvers can generate proofs of unsatisfiability for problems that are intractable for other proof-generating SAT solvers. The PB solver can, at times, detect that the proof can exploit modular arithmetic to give smaller BDD representations and therefore shorter proofs. 

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5. Translating Pseudo-Boolean Proofs into Boolean Clausal Proofs

   Nukala, Karthik; Choudhuri, Soumyaditya; Bryant, Randal E; Heule, Marijn J_H (October 2024, TU Wien Academic Press)

   Narodytska, Nina; Rümmer, Philipp (Ed.)

   Clausal proofs, particularly those based on the deletion resolution asymmetric tautology (DRAT) proof system, are widely used by Boolean satisfiability solvers for expressing proofs of unsatisfiability. Their success stems from their simplicity and scalability. When solvers go beyond pure propositional reasoning, however, generating clausal proofs becomes more difficult. Solvers that employ pseudo-Boolean reasoning, including cutting-planes operations, can express proofs in the VeriPB proof system, but its adoption is not widespread. We introduce PBIP (Pseudo-Boolean Implication Proof), a framework that provides an intermediate representation between VeriPB and clausal proofs. We also introduce a toolchain comprising 1) a VeriPB-to-PBIP translator that performs proof trimming and optimization, and 2) a PBIP-to-LRAT translator that makes use of proof-generating operations on ordered binary decision diagrams (BDDs) to generate clausal proofs in LRAT format, a variant of the DRAT that allows efficient checking. We demonstrate the viability of our approach, the effectiveness of our trimming, and the performance of our clausal proof generator on a set of native PB benchmarks and compare our approach to direct checking of VeriPB proofs. 

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