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ISSN 2079-3316 Bilingual online scientific Online scientific journal of the Ailamazyan Program System Institute of the Ailamazyan PSI of PSI of Russian Academy of Science of RAS 12+ 
Volume 17 (2026) . Issue 4 (73) . Paper No. 1 (527)

Theoretical foundations of software systems

Research Article
DOIDigital Object Identifier 10.25209/2079-3316-2026-17-4-3-32

Buran: A parallel dataflow computation model based on token interaction

Arkady Valentinovich KlimovCorrespondent author

National Research Center „Kurchatov Institute“, Moscow, Russia
Arkady Valentinovich Klimov — Correspondent author arkvklimov@yandex.ru

Abstract.
An abstract computation model is presented, which is a generalization of a family of architectures and models based on token interactions. Tokens are viewed as abstract entities. Interactions between them generate computational quanta, which can generate new tokens.
The model is generally nondeterministic. However, an individual computation can be deterministic. This article provides a mathematical description of the model, defining the concepts of computation and deterministic computation. The fundamental decidability of the determinism of a given computation is proven, but the question of how to recognize it more efficiently remains open.
Being abstract, the model can have various concretizations. One of them is the project of the unique multi-core architecture of the BURAN parallel dataflow computing system (PDCS), proposed by V.S. Burtsev in the late 1990s, as well as some of its extensions. The name of the abstract model itself was borrowed from this project. Work on it is currently ongoing at the Kurchatov Institute National Research Center.
The closest known analogue of the model are Petri nets and their extensions, such as Colored Petri Nets (CPN). They can also be described as a concretization of the abstract model. (In Russian).

Keywords: abstract computation model, parallel computation model, determinism, nondeterminism, token, interaction, computational graph, PDCS BURAN, Petri nets

MSC-20202020 Mathematics Subject Classification 68Q09; 68T01, 68W10MSC-2020 68-XX: Computer science MSC-2020 68Qxx: Theory of computing MSC-2020 68Q09: Other nonclassical models of computation MSC-2020 68Txx: Artificial intelligence MSC-2020 68T01: General topics in artificial intelligence MSC-2020 68Wxx: Algorithms in computer science MSC-2020 68W10: Parallel algorithms in computer science

Acknowledgments: The work was carried out within the state assignment of NRC „Kurchatov institute“

For citation: Arkady V. Klimov. Buran: A parallel dataflow computation model based on token interaction. Program Systems: Theory and Applications, 2026, 17:4, pp. 3–32. (In Russ.). https://psta.psiras.ru/2026/4_3-32.

Full text of article (PDF): https://psta.psiras.ru/read/psta2026_4_3-32.pdf.

The article was submitted 28.05.2026; approved after reviewing 10.09.2026; accepted for publication 26.09.2026; published online 10.10.2026.

© Klimov A. V.
2026
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