A Type System Equivalent to the Modal Mu-Calculus Model Checking of Higher-Order Recursion Schemes

The model checking of higher-order recursion schemes has important applications in the verification of higher-order programs. Ong has previously shown that the modal mu-calculus model checking of trees generated by order-n recursion scheme is n-EXPTIME complete, but his algorithm and its correctness proof were rather complex. We give an alternative, type-based verification method: Given a modal mu-calculus formula, we can construct a type system in which a recursion scheme is typable if, and only if, the (possibly infinite, ranked) tree generated by the scheme satisfies the formula. The model checking problem is thus reduced to a type checking problem. Our type-based approach yields a simple verification algorithm, and its correctness proof (constructed without recourse to game semantics) is comparatively easy to understand. Furthermore, the algorithm is polynomial-time in the size of the recursion scheme, assuming that the formula and the largest order and arity of non-terminals of the recursion scheme are fixed.