Simulating and model checking membrane systems using strategies in Maude

Abstract: Membrane systems are a biologically-inspired computational model based on the structure of biological cells and the way chemicals interact and traverse their membranes. Although their dynamics are described by rules, encoding membrane systems into rewriting logic is not straightforward due to its complex control mechanisms. Multiple alternatives have been proposed in the literature and implemented in the Maude specification language. The recent release of the Maude strategy language and its associated strategy-aware model checker allow specifying these systems more easily, so that they become executable and verifiable for free. An easily-extensible interactive environment transforms membrane specifications into rewrite theories controlled by appropriate strategies, and allows simulating and verifying membrane computations by means of them.