Related papers: Uniform first-order definitions in finitely genera…

For a sequence of random structures with $n$-element domains over a relational signature, we define its first order (FO) complexity as a certain subset in the Banach space $\ell^{\infty}/c_0$. The well-known FO zero-one law and FO…

A set of first-order formulas, whatever the cardinality of the set of symbols, is equivalent to an independent set.

We give a definition, in the ring language, of Z_p inside Q_p and of F_p[[t]] inside F_p((t)), which works uniformly for all $p$ and all finite field extensions of these fields, and in many other Henselian valued fields as well. The formula…

For a first-order formula $\phi(x;y)$ we introduce and study the characteristic sequence $<P_n : n < \omega>$ of hypergraphs defined by $P_n(y_1,...,y_n) := (\exists x) \bigwedge_{i \leq n} \phi(x;y_i)$. We show that combinatorial and…

We introduce the notion of limiting theories, giving examples and providing a sufficient condition under which the first order theory of a structure is the limit of the first order theories of a collection of substructures. We also give a…

We consider the equations of motion of the full heterotic string field theory including both the Neveu-Schwarz and the Ramond sectors. It is shown that they can be formulated in the form of an infinite number of first-order equations for an…

In this work we continue the syntactic study of completeness that began with the works of Immerman and Medina. In particular, we take a conjecture raised by Medina in his dissertation that says if a conjunction of a second-order and a…

We prove that if x^m + c*x^n permutes the prime field GF(p), where m>n>0 and c is in GF(p)^*, then gcd(m-n,p-1) > sqrt{p} - 1. Conversely, we prove that if q>=4 and m>n>0 are fixed and satisfy gcd(m-n,q-1) > 2q*(log log q)/(log q), then…

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 give an algebraic quantifier elimination algorithm for the first-order theory over any given finite field using Gr\"obner basis methods. The algorithm relies on the strong Nullstellensatz and properties of elimination ideals over finite…

We consider the computational problem of determining the unit group of a finite ring, by which we mean the computation of a finite presentation together with an algorithm to express units as words in the generators. We show that the problem…

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…

Definite descriptions are first-order expressions that denote unique objects. In this paper, we propose a second-order counterpart, designed to refer to unique relations between objects. We investigate this notion within the framework of…

Semifields are semirings in which every nonzero element has a multiplicative inverse. A rough classification uses the characteristic of the semifield, that is the isomorphism type of the semifield generated by the two neutral elements. For…

Unit-generated orders of a quadratic field are orders of the form $\mathcal{O} = \mathbb{Z}[\varepsilon]$, where $\varepsilon$ is a unit in the quadratic field. If the order $\mathcal{O}$ is a maximal order of a real quadratic field, then…

For an $n\times n$ random image with independent pixels, black with probability $p(n)$ and white with probability $1-p(n)$, the probability of satisfying any given first-order sentence tends to 0 or 1, provided both $p(n)n^{\frac{2}{k}}$…

In this paper we provide a complete algebraic characterization of elementary equivalence of rings with a finitely generated additive group in the language of pure rings. The rings considered are arbitrary otherwise.

Henselian elements are roots of polynomials which satisfy the conditions of Hensel's Lemma. In this paper we prove that for a finite field extension $(F|L,v)$, if $F$ is contained in the absolute inertia field of $L$, then the valuation…

We prove an analogue of the prime number theorem for finite fields.

For a large prime $p$, a rational function $\psi \in F_p(X)$ over the finite field $F_p$ of $p$ elements, and integers $u$ and $H\ge 1$, we obtain a lower bound on the number consecutive values $\psi(x)$, $x = u+1, \ldots, u+H$ that belong…