Symmetric Splitting in the General Theory of Stable Models

Splitting a logic program allows us to reduce the task of computing its stable models to similar tasks for smaller programs. This idea is extended here to the general theory of stable models that replaces traditional logic programs by arbitrary first-order sentences and distinguishes between intensional and extensional predicates. We discuss two kinds of splitting: a set of intensional predicates can be split into subsets, and a formula can be split into its conjunctive terms.

Paolo Ferraris, Joohyung Lee, Vladimir Lifschitz, Ravi Palla