A Polynomial Translation of Mobile Ambients into Safe Petri Nets

The master thesis of Susanne Göbel generates the deep understanding of the Mobile Ambient (MA) calculus that is necessary to use it as a modeling language. Instead of calculus terms a much more convenient representation via MA trees naturally maps to the application area of networks where processes pass hierarchical protection domains like firewalls. The work analyses MA's function principles and derives a translation into Safe Petri nets. It extends to arbitrary MA processes but finiteness of the net and therefore decidability of reachability is only guaranteed for bounded processes. The construction is polynomial in process size and bounds so that reachability analysis is only PSPACE-complete.   

Susanne Göbel currently works towards her PhD in Computer Science at the University of Kaiserslautern. She engages in various research projects to help people understand computational frameworks of theory and practice. While devoting most of her free time to her family she still finds time to work as women councilor and on improving studying and working conditions in the faculty.