Related papers: Bounds for the quantifier depth in finite-variable…

Alternating quantifier depth is a natural measure of difficulty required to express first order logical sentences. We define a sequence of first order properties on rooted, locally finite trees in a recursive manner, and provide rigorous…

We show that on graphs with n vertices, the 2-dimensional Weisfeiler-Leman algorithm requires at most O(n^2/log(n)) iterations to reach stabilization. This in particular shows that the previously best, trivial upper bound of O(n^2) is…

Let $D(G)$ be the minimum quantifier depth of a first order sentence $\Phi$ that defines a graph $G$ up to isomorphism. Let $D_0(G)$ be the version of $D(G)$ where we do not allow quantifier alternations in $\Phi$. Define $q_0(n)$ to be the…

Given two $n$-element structures, $\mathcal{A}$ and $\mathcal{B}$, which can be distinguished by a sentence of $k$-variable first-order logic ($\mathcal{L}^k$), what is the minimum $f(n)$ such that there is guaranteed to be a sentence $\phi…

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 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…

Let $k \geq 3$. We prove the following three bounds for the matching number, $\alpha'(G)$, of a graph, $G$, of order $n$ size $m$ and maximum degree at most $k$. If $k$ is odd, then $\alpha'(G) \ge \left( \frac{k-1}{k(k^2 - 3)} \right) n \,…

We prove near-optimal trade-offs for quantifier depth versus number of variables in first-order logic by exhibiting pairs of $n$-element structures that can be distinguished by a $k$-variable first-order sentence but where every such…

We prove that graphs G, G' satisfy the same sentences of first-order logic with counting of quantifier rank at most k if and only if they are homomorphism-indistinguishable over the class of all graphs of tree depth at most k. Here G, G'…

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 say that a first order formula A distinguishes a graph G from another graph G' if A is true on G and false on G'. Provided G and G' are non-isomorphic, let D(G,G') denote the minimal quantifier rank of a such formula. We prove that, if G…

It is well-known that every first-order property on words is expressible using at most three variables. The subclass of properties expressible with only two variables is also quite interesting and well-studied. We prove precise structure…

$GC^k$ is a logic introduced by Scheidt and Schweikardt (2023) to express properties of hypergraphs. It is similar to first-order logic with counting quantifiers ($C$) adapted to the hypergraph setting. It has distinct sets of variables for…

Given a connected graph $G$ and its vertex $x$, let $U_x(G)$ denote the universal cover of $G$ obtained by unfolding $G$ into a tree starting from $x$. Let $T=T(n)$ be the minimum number such that, for graphs $G$ and $H$ with at most $n$…

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 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…

Given a relational structure M on n elements, let D(M) be the minimum quantifier rank of a first order formula identifying M up to isomorphism in the class of n-element structures. The obvious upper bound is D(M)\le n. We show that if the…

For any fixed positive integer $k$, let $\alpha_{k}$ denote the smallest $\alpha \in (0,1)$ such that the random graph sequence $\left\{G\left(n, n^{-\alpha}\right)\right\}$ does not satisfy the zero-one law for the set $\mathcal{E}_{k}$ of…

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…

For a fixed "pattern" graph $G$, the $\textit{colored $G$-subgraph isomorphism problem}$ (denoted $\mathrm{SUB}(G)$) asks, given an $n$-vertex graph $H$ and a coloring $V(H) \to V(G)$, whether $H$ contains a properly colored copy of $G$.…