IF Modal Logic and Classical Negation

The present paper provides novel results on the model theory of Independence friendly modal logic. We concentrate on its particularly well-behaved fragment that was introduced in Tulenheimo and Sevenster (Advances in Modal Logic, 2006). Here we refer to this fragment as ‘Simple IF modal logic’ (IFML _s ). A model-theoretic criterion is presented which serves to tell when a formula of IFML _s is not equivalent to any formula of basic modal logic (ML). We generalize the notion of bisimulation familiar from ML; the resulting asymmetric simulation concept is used to prove that IFML _s is not closed under complementation. In fact we obtain a much stronger result: the only IFML _s formulas admitting their classical negation to be expressed in IFML _s itself are those whose truth-condition is in fact expressible in ML.