English

Degree of Satisfiability in Heyting Algebras

Logic 2025-07-16 v3 Combinatorics

Abstract

Given a finite structure MM and property pp, it is a natural to study the degree of satisfiability of pp in MM; i.e. to ask: what is the probability that uniformly randomly chosen elements in MM satisfy pp? In group theory, a well-known result of Gustafson states that the equation xy=yxxy=yx has a finite satisfiability gap: its degree of satisfiability is either 11 (in Abelian groups) or no larger than 58\frac{5}{8}. Degree of satisfiability has proven useful in the study of (finite and infinite) group-like and ring-like algebraic structures, but finite satisfiability gap questions have not been considered in lattice-like, order-theoretic settings yet. Here we investigate degree of satisfiability questions in the context of Heyting algebras and intuitionistic logic. We classify all equations in one free variable with respect to finite satisfiability gap, and determine which common principles of classical logic in multiple free variables have finite satisfiability gap. In particular we prove that, in a finite non-Boolean Heyting algebra, the probability that a randomly chosen element satisfies x¬x=x \vee \neg x = \top is no larger than 23\frac{2}{3}. Finally, we generalize our results to infinite Heyting algebras, and present their applications to point-set topology, black-box algebras, and the philosophy of logic.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2110.11515,
  title  = {Degree of Satisfiability in Heyting Algebras},
  author = {Benjamin Merlin Bumpus and Zoltan A. Kocsis},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2110.11515},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

22 pages, 2 figures. To appear in Journal of Symbolic Logic. Changes: Final version, w/ streamlined proofs and minor changes throughout