An automata theoretic decision procedure for the propositional mu-calculus

The propositional mu-calculus is a propositional logic of programs which incorporates a least fixpoint operator and subsumes the propositional dynamic logic of Fischer and Ladner, the infinite looping construct of Streett, and the game logic of Parikh. We give an elementary time decision procedure, using a reduction to the emptiness problem for automata on infinite trees. A small model theorem is obtained as a corollary.