Related papers: What do we know when we know that a theory is cons…
In scientific inference problems, the underlying statistical modeling assumptions have a crucial impact on the end results. There exist, however, only a few automatic means for validating these fundamental modelling assumptions. The…
Consistent answers to a query from a possibly inconsistent database are answers that are simultaneously retrieved from every possible repair of the database. Repairs are consistent instances that minimally differ from the original…
A complete first-order theory is equational if every definable set is a Boolean combination of instances of equations, that is, of formulae such that the family of finite intersections of instances has the descending chain condition.…
Semi-algebraic proof systems such as sum-of-squares (SoS) have attracted a lot of attention recently due to their relation to approximation algorithms: constant degree semi-algebraic proofs lead to conjecturally optimal polynomial-time…
A dependent theory is a (first order complete theory) T which does not have the independence property. A main result here is: if we expand a model of T by the traces on it of sets definable in a bigger model then we preserve its being…
In the consistent histories formulation of quantum theory, the probabilistic predictions and retrodictions made from observed data depend on the choice of a consistent set. We show that this freedom allows the formalism to retrodict…
The fixed-template constraint satisfaction problem (CSP) can be seen as the problem of deciding whether a given primitive positive first-order sentence is true in a fixed structure (also called model). We study a class of problems that…
In this contribution we revisit regular model checking, a powerful framework that has been successfully applied for the verification of infinite-state systems, especially parameterized systems (concurrent systems with an arbitrary number of…
Program semantics can often be expressed as a (many-sorted) first-order theory S, and program properties as sentences $\varphi$ which are intended to hold in the canonical model of such a theory, which is often incomputable. Recently, we…
We consider the dichotomy conjecture for consistent query answering under primary key constraints. It states that, for every fixed Boolean conjunctive query q, testing whether q is certain (i.e. whether it evaluates to true over all repairs…
The purpose of this article is to formulate a number of probabilistic hidden-variable theorems, to provide proofs in some cases, and counterexamples to some conjectured relationships. The first theorem is the fundamental one. It asserts the…
We show that the first-order logical theory of the binary overlap-free words (and, more generally, the ${\alpha}$-free words for rational ${\alpha}$, $2 < {\alpha} \leq 7/3$), is decidable. As a consequence, many results previously obtained…
G{\"o}del's second incompleteness theorem forbids to prove, in a given theory U, the consistency of many theories-in particular, of the theory U itself-as well as it forbids to prove the normalization property for these theories, since this…
The search for a scientific theory of consciousness should result in theories that are falsifiable. However, here we show that falsification is especially problematic for theories of consciousness. We formally describe the standard…
This paper explores the consistency strength of The Proper Forcing Axiom ($\textsf{PFA}$) and the theory (T) which involves a variation of the Viale-Wei$\ss$ guessing hull principle. We show that (T) is consistent relative to a supercompact…
A complete first order theory of a relational signature is called monomorphic iff all its models are monomorphic (i.e. have all the $n$-element substructures isomorphic, for each positive integer $n$). We show that a complete theory…
For any first order theory T we construct a Boolean valued model M, in which precisely the T--provable formulas hold, and in which every (Boolean valued) subset which is invariant under all automorphisms of M is definable by a first order…
It is a well-known empirical phenomenon that natural axiomatic theories are pre-well-ordered by consistency strength. Without a precise mathematical definition of "natural," it is unclear how to study this phenomenon mathematically. We will…
It is proved that the first-order theory of the structure (N,mod) is undecidable. Here mod denotes the operation of computing the remainder for any division between positive integers; i.e. x mod y is the remainder obtained by the division x…
Human agents happen to judge that a conjunction of two terms is more probable than one of the terms, in contradiction with the rules of classical probabilities---this is the conjunction fallacy. One of the most discussed accounts of this…