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  4. A UNIFYING SEMANTICS FOR MARKOV KERNELS AND LINEAR OPERATORS

A UNIFYING SEMANTICS FOR MARKOV KERNELS AND LINEAR OPERATORS

File(s)
AzevedodeAmorim_cornellgrad_0058F_13859.pdf (840.79 KB)
Permanent Link(s)
https://doi.org/10.7298/vvys-t959
https://hdl.handle.net/1813/114568
Collections
Cornell Theses and Dissertations
Author
Azevedo de Amorim, Pedro Henrique
Abstract

There has been much work done in developing semantic structures for interpreting probabilistic programs. In particular, there have been many models based either on Markov kernels or linear operators, each with their own set of strengths and weaknesses. Concurrently, mathematicians have been working on categorical semantics for probability theory with the goal of obtaining a more abstract understanding of the field. This has led to the definition of Markov categories, an abstraction of Markov kernels. However, a similar treatment to the linear operator approach to probability is currently eluded by existing methods. This thesis sits at the intersection of probabilistic semantics and categorical probability theory. We propose a new categorical semantics and core calculus that extends Markov categories with linear operators, we justify its viability by showing how many useful categories used in probabilistic semantics are instances of our framework and, furthermore, we define a new model inspired by a functional-analytic treatment of measure theory. We conclude by showing how this formalism can be used to reason about a generalized notion of probabilistic independence via a substructural type system.

Description
199 pages
Date Issued
2023-08
Keywords
Categorical Semantics
•
Probabilistic Programming
•
Programming Languages
•
Type Theory
Committee Chair
Kozen, Dexter
Committee Member
Damle, Anil
Foster, John
Hsu, Justin
Degree Discipline
Computer Science
Degree Name
Ph. D., Computer Science
Degree Level
Doctor of Philosophy
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International
Rights URI
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Type
dissertation or thesis
Link(s) to Catalog Record
https://newcatalog.library.cornell.edu/catalog/16219521

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