Proof Diagrams for Multiplicative Linear Logic: Syntax and Semantics

Proof nets are a syntax for linear logic proofs which gives a coarser notion of proof equivalence with respect to syntactic equality together with an intuitive geometrical representation of proofs. In this paper we give an alternative 2-dimensional syntax for multiplicative linear logic derivations. The syntax of string diagrams authorizes the definition of a framework where the sequentializability of a term, i.e. deciding whether the term corresponds to a correct derivation, can be verified in linear time. Furthermore, we can use this syntax to define a denotational semantics for multiplicative linear logic with units by means of equivalence classes of proof diagrams modulo a terminating rewriting.