A strong version of Cobham's theorem
Logic
2023-09-04 v2 Logic in Computer Science
Abstract
Let be two multiplicatively independent integers. Cobham's famous theorem states that a set is both -recognizable and -recognizable if and only if it is definable in Presburger arithmetic. Here we show the following strengthening: let be -recognizable, let be -recognizable such that both and are not definable in Presburger arithmetic. Then the first-order logical theory of is undecidable. This is in contrast to a well-known theorem of B\"uchi that the first-order logical theory of is decidable.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2110.11858,
title = {A strong version of Cobham's theorem},
author = {Philipp Hieronymi and Chris Schulz},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2110.11858},
year = {2023}
}