English

A strong version of Cobham's theorem

Logic 2023-09-04 v2 Logic in Computer Science

Abstract

Let k,2k,\ell\geq 2 be two multiplicatively independent integers. Cobham's famous theorem states that a set XNX\subseteq \mathbb{N} is both kk-recognizable and \ell-recognizable if and only if it is definable in Presburger arithmetic. Here we show the following strengthening: let XNmX\subseteq \mathbb{N}^m be kk-recognizable, let YNnY\subseteq \mathbb{N}^n be \ell-recognizable such that both XX and YY are not definable in Presburger arithmetic. Then the first-order logical theory of (N,+,X,Y)(\mathbb{N},+,X,Y) is undecidable. This is in contrast to a well-known theorem of B\"uchi that the first-order logical theory of (N,+,X)(\mathbb{N},+,X) 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}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-24T07:06:35.343Z