What is a categorical model of the differential and the resource /-calculi?

摘要

The differential λ-calculus is a paradigmatic functional programming language endowed with a syntactical differentiation operator that allows the application of a program to an argument in a linear way. One of the main features of this language is that it is resource conscious and gives the programmer suitable primitives to handle explicitly the resources used by a program during its execution. The differential operator also allows us to write the full Taylor expansion of a program. Through this expansion, every program can be decomposed into an infinite sum (representing non-deterministic choice) of 'simpler' programs that are strictly linear.rnThe aim of this paper is to develop an abstract 'model theory' for the untyped differential λ-calculus. In particular, we investigate what form a general categorical definition of a denotational model for this calculus should take. Starting from the work of Blute, Cockett and Seely on differential categories, we develop the notion of a Cartesian closed differential category and prove that linear reflexive objects living in such categories constitute sound and complete models of the untyped differential λ-calculus. We also give sufficient conditions for Cartesian closed differential categories to model the Taylor expansion. This requires that every model living in such categories equates all programs having the same full Taylor expansion.