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Given two weighted automata, we consider the problem of whether one is big-O of the other, i.e., if the weight of every finite word in the first is not greater than some constant multiple of the weight in the second. We show that the…
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 show that Ramsey theory, a domain presently conceived to guarantee the existence of large homogeneous sets for partitions on k-tuples of words (for every natural number k) over a finite alphabet, can be extended to one for partitions on…
In this article, we give two proofs of Carlson's theorem for located words in~$\mathsf{ACA}^+_0$. The first proof is purely combinatorial, in the style of Towsner's proof of Hindman's theorem. The second uses topological dynamics to show…
We extend the theory of minimal absent words to (rooted and unrooted) trees, having edges labeled by letters from an alphabet $\Sigma$ of cardinality $\sigma$. We show that the set $\text{MAW}(T)$ of minimal absent words of a rooted (resp.…
A pair of letters $x$ and $y$ are said to alternate in a word $w$ if, after removing all letters except for the copies of $x$ and $y$ from $w$, the resulting word is of the form $xyxy\ldots$ (of even or odd length) or $yxyx\ldots$ (of even…
This paper continues to study the connection between reverse mathematics and Weihrauch reducibility. In particular, we study the problems formed from Maltsev's theorem on the order types of countable ordered groups. Solomon showed that the…
We prove that outer commutator words are uniformly concise, i.e. if an outer commutator word w takes m different values in a group G, then the order of the verbal subgroup w(G) is bounded by a function depending only on m and not on w or G.…
Simpson and the second author asked whether there exists a characterization of the natural numbers by a second-order sentence which is provably categorical in the theory RCA$^*_0$. We answer in the negative, showing that for any…
A graph $G = (V,E)$ is word-representable if there is a word $w$ over the alphabet $V$ such that $x$ and $y$ alternate in $w$ if and only if the edge $(x, y)$ is in $G$. It is known [6] that all $3$-colourable graphs are word-representable,…
For two given $\omega$-terms $\alpha$ and $\beta$, the word problem for $\omega$-terms over a variety $\boldsymbol{\mathrm{V}}$ asks whether $\alpha=\beta$ in all monoids in $\boldsymbol{\mathrm{V}}$. We show that the word problem for…
We analyze Ekeland's variational principle in the context of reverse mathematics. We find that that the full variational principle is equivalent to $\Pi^1_1$-${\sf CA}_0$, a strong theory of second-order arithmetic, while natural…
We prove that if $(M,\mathcal{X})$ and $(M,\mathcal{Y})$ are countable models of the theory $\mathrm{WKL}^*_0$ such that $\mathrm{I}\Sigma_1(A)$ fails for some $A \in \mathcal{X} \cap \mathcal{Y}$, then $(M,\mathcal{X})$ and…
We present new preservation theorems that semantically characterize the $\exists^k \forall^*$ and $\forall^k \exists^*$ prefix classes of first order logic, for each natural number $k$. Unlike preservation theorems in the literature that…
Letters $x$ and $y$ alternate in a word $w$ if after deleting in $w$ all letters but the copies of $x$ and $y$ we either obtain a word $xyxy\cdots$ (of even or odd length) or a word $yxyx\cdots$ (of even or odd length). A graph $G=(V,E)$ is…
Kruskal's theorem famously states that finite trees (ordered using an infima-preserving embeddability relation) form a well partial order. Freund, Rathjen, and Weiermann extended this result to general recursive data types with their…
Let $W^{(n)}$ be the $n$-letter word obtained by repeating a fixed word $W$, and let $R_n$ be a random $n$-letter word over the same alphabet. We show several results about the length of the longest common subsequence (LCS) between…
In this dissertation, we present for each natural number $k$, semantic characterizations of the $\exists^k \forall^*$ and $\forall^k \exists^*$ prefix classes of first order logic sentences, over all structures finite and infinite. This…
Order-invariant formulas access an ordering on a structure's universe, but the model relation is independent of the used ordering. Order invariance is frequently used for logic-based approaches in computer science. Order-invariant formulas…
We consider first-order logic with monoidal quantifiers over words. We show that all languages with a neutral letter, definable using the addition numerical predicate are also definable with the order predicate as the only numerical…