A modified reachability tree approach to analysis of unbounded Petri nets

Reachability trees, especially the corresponding Karp-Miller's finite reachability trees generated for Petri nets are fundamental for systematically investigating many characteristics such as boundedness, liveness, and performance of systems modeled by Petri nets. However, too much information is lost in a FRT to render it useful for many applications. In this paper, modified reachability trees (MRT) of Petri nets are introduced that extend the capability of Karp-Miller's FRTs in solving the liveness, deadlock, and reachability problems, and in defining or determining possible firing sequences. The finiteness of MRT is proved and several examples are presented to illustrate the advantages of MRT over FRT.