Related papers: On logical hierarchies within FO^2-definable langu…
We show that each level of the quantifier alternation hierarchy within FO^2[<] -- the 2-variable fragment of the first order logic of order on words -- is a variety of languages. We then use the notion of condensed rankers, a refinement of…
We consider the two-variable fragment FO^2[<] of first-order logic over finite words. Numerous characterizations of this class are known. Th\'erien and Wilke have shown that it is decidable whether a given regular language is definable in…
We consider the quantifier alternation hierarchy within two-variable first-order logic FO^2[<,suc] over finite words with linear order and binary successor predicate. We give a single identity of omega-terms for each level of this…
We characterize the languages in the individual levels of the quantifier alternation hierarchy of first-order logic with two variables by identities. This implies decidability of the individual levels. More generally we show that the…
We consider two-variable first-order logic FO2 over infinite words. Restricting the number of nested negations defines an infinite hierarchy; its levels are often called the half-levels of the FO2 quantifier alternation hierarchy. For every…
We consider two-variable first-order logic on finite words with a fixed number of quantifier alternations. We show that all languages with a neutral letter definable using the order and finite-degree predicates are also definable with the…
We investigate the quantifier alternation hierarchy in first-order logic on finite words. Levels in this hierarchy are defined by counting the number of quantifier alternations in formulas. We prove that one can decide membership of a…
We study tree languages that can be defined in \Delta_2 . These are tree languages definable by a first-order formula whose quantifier prefix is forall exists, and simultaneously by a first-order formula whose quantifier prefix is . For the…
We contribute to the refined understanding of the language-logic-algebra interplay in the context of first-order properties of countable words. We establish decidable algebraic characterizations of one variable fragment of FO as well as…
We give topological and algebraic characterizations as well as language theoretic descriptions of the following subclasses of first-order logic FO[<] for omega-languages: Sigma_2, FO^2, the intersection of FO^2 and Sigma_2, and Delta_2 (and…
We investigate quantifier alternation hierarchies in first-order logic on finite words. Levels in these hierarchies are defined by counting the number of quantifier alternations in formulas. We prove that one can decide membership of a…
Adding modular predicates yields a generalization of first-order logic FO over words. The expressive power of FO[<,MOD] with order comparison $x<y$ and predicates for $x \equiv i \mod n$ has been investigated by Barrington, Compton,…
We show that for any $i > 0$, it is decidable, given a regular language, whether it is expressible in the $\Sigma_i[<]$ fragment of first-order logic FO[<]. This settles a question open since 1971. Our main technical result relies on the…
We consider fragments of first-order logic and as models we allow finite and infinite words simultaneously. The only binary relations apart from equality are order comparison < and the successor predicate +1. We give characterizations of…
The study of various decision problems for logic fragments has a long history in computer science. This paper is on the membership problem for a fragment of first-order logic over infinite words; the membership problem asks for a given…
We study first-order logic (FO) over the structure consisting of finite words over some alphabet $A$, together with the (non-contiguous) subword ordering. In terms of decidability of quantifier alternation fragments, this logic is…
We consider a family U of finite universes. The second order quantifier Q_R, means for each u in U quantifying over a set of n(R)-place relations isomorphic to a given relation. We define a natural partial order on such quantifiers called…
We consider the four fragments FO2, the intersection of Sigma2 and FO2, the intersection of Pi2 and FO2, and Delta2 of first-order logic FO[<] over finite and infinite words. For all four fragments, we give characterizations in terms of…
We investigate the decidability of the definability problem for fragments of first order logic over finite words enriched with modular predicates. Our approach aims toward the most generic statements that we could achieve, which…
We consider first-order logic over the subword ordering on finite words, where each word is available as a constant. Our first result is that the $\Sigma_1$ theory is undecidable (already over two letters). We investigate the decidability…