Process Calculi to Analyze Emerging Applications in Concurrency

Abstract
The notion of computation has significantly evolved in the last ten years or so. Modern computing systems (e.g., Internet) now exhibit infinite behavior, usually in the context of decentralized networks where interactions are inherently concurrent. This new kind of systems is ubiquitous nowadays, so techniques for designing them in a reliable way are fundamental. Process calculi are formal specification languages of concurrent systems in which the notions of process and interaction prevail. They are endowed with reasoning techniques that allow to rigorously determine whether a system exhibits some desirable properties. The generic nature of process calculi has made possible their successful application in very diverse areas. Based on work by the authors, this paper illustrates the use of process calculi in two emerging application areas: biology and security protocols. Basic notions of process calculi are introduced, real systems in the two areas are modeled, and some of their properties are verified. .