A Calculus of Terms for Coalgebras of Polynomial Functors

A syntax and semantics of types, terms and formulas for coalgebras of polynomial functors is developed, extending earlier work [4] on monomial coalgebras to include functors constructed using coproducts. A modified ultrapower construction for polynomial coalgebras is introduced, adapting the conventional ultrapower to retain only those states that evaluate observable terms in a standard way. A special role is played by terms that take observable values and are “rigid”: their free variables do not occur in any state-valued subterm. The following “co-Birkhoff” theorem is proved: a class of polynomial coalgebras is definable by Boolean combinations of equations between rigid terms iff the class is closed under disjoint unions, images of bisimulations, and observable ultrapowers.