Verification Column

Abstract

Automated theorem proving can be seen as a logic-based approach for generating mathematical proofs mechanically. Important applications are hardware and software verification, general-purpose proof assistants and proof checking. Most state-of-the-art theorem provers rely on proof calculi for higher-order logic that incorporate superposition techniques or satisfiability modulo theories. The article by Bentkamp, Blanchette, Nummelin, Tourret and Waldmann provides an overview of the recently developed λ-superposition approach. It takes inspirations of classical superposition for first-order logic and extends it for higher-order constructs. This new approach paves the way for a new generation of automated theorem provers for powerful logics, still being impressively efficient.