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University of South China

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Research library6linked papers
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Selected work

Representative Papers

Minimum Complete MR Subsets under Semantic-Mutation Fault Models: A Support-Set Domination Boundary

Jun 06, 2026

This study investigates when mutation testing requires selecting a subset of metamorphic relations (MRs) based on concrete mutants—rather than merely counting fault classes—to satisfy minimal completeness evidence requirements. To this end, the authors propose a “layer-wise relative completeness” criterion and introduce a dominance boundary theory driven by heterogeneity in killing signatures, thereby decoupling MR-specific concerns from conventional fault-class statistics. They define a scope-based fault signature kernel and, leveraging a set cover formulation, greedy approximation, integer linear programming, and SMS rank analysis—augmented with artifact channels and path-witness mechanisms—prove that the Min-MR-Complete problem is NP-hard, establish a logarithmic approximation bound, and provide both exact and approximate solution methods. Path witnesses further validate the efficacy of the boundary theorem under both collapsed and non-collapsed scenarios.

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NOETHER: A Constructive Framework for Metamorphic Pattern Discovery from Operator Algebras

May 17, 2026

This work addresses three fundamental challenges in metamorphic testing—namely, the origin, closure, and transferability of metamorphic relations (MRs)—by introducing the NOETHER framework. NOETHER combines an upstream eight-module decomposition grounded in operator algebra (encompassing symmetry, order structure, self-adjointness, and related properties) with a downstream CONSTRUCT-MP algorithm to automatically derive a set of MetaPatterns from programs. These MetaPatterns enjoy algebraic closure and polynomial-time decidability, elevating MR induction to a domain-level algebraic abstraction and enabling a deductive, mechanized approach to MR generation. For the first time, this method provides formal theoretical guarantees for both closure and decidability. Empirical validation across reactor physics, equivariant machine learning, and relational query optimization demonstrates systematic reconstruction of known MRs, synthesis of executable MRs, and verification of core predictions, while counterexamples refute the conjecture of absolute completeness and reveal five dimensions for extending the Translate framework.

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Recent publications

Latest Papers

Minimum Complete MR Subsets under Semantic-Mutation Fault Models: A Support-Set Domination Boundary

Jun 06, 2026

This study investigates when mutation testing requires selecting a subset of metamorphic relations (MRs) based on concrete mutants—rather than merely counting fault classes—to satisfy minimal completeness evidence requirements. To this end, the authors propose a “layer-wise relative completeness” criterion and introduce a dominance boundary theory driven by heterogeneity in killing signatures, thereby decoupling MR-specific concerns from conventional fault-class statistics. They define a scope-based fault signature kernel and, leveraging a set cover formulation, greedy approximation, integer linear programming, and SMS rank analysis—augmented with artifact channels and path-witness mechanisms—prove that the Min-MR-Complete problem is NP-hard, establish a logarithmic approximation bound, and provide both exact and approximate solution methods. Path witnesses further validate the efficacy of the boundary theorem under both collapsed and non-collapsed scenarios.

0 citationsRead paper

NOETHER: A Constructive Framework for Metamorphic Pattern Discovery from Operator Algebras

May 17, 2026

This work addresses three fundamental challenges in metamorphic testing—namely, the origin, closure, and transferability of metamorphic relations (MRs)—by introducing the NOETHER framework. NOETHER combines an upstream eight-module decomposition grounded in operator algebra (encompassing symmetry, order structure, self-adjointness, and related properties) with a downstream CONSTRUCT-MP algorithm to automatically derive a set of MetaPatterns from programs. These MetaPatterns enjoy algebraic closure and polynomial-time decidability, elevating MR induction to a domain-level algebraic abstraction and enabling a deductive, mechanized approach to MR generation. For the first time, this method provides formal theoretical guarantees for both closure and decidability. Empirical validation across reactor physics, equivariant machine learning, and relational query optimization demonstrates systematic reconstruction of known MRs, synthesis of executable MRs, and verification of core predictions, while counterexamples refute the conjecture of absolute completeness and reveal five dimensions for extending the Translate framework.

0 citationsRead paper