English

Filtered colimit elimination from Birkhoff's variety theorem

Category Theory 2025-04-18 v3

Abstract

Birkhoff's variety theorem, a fundamental theorem of universal algebra, asserts that a subclass of a given algebra is definable by equations if and only if it satisfies specific closure properties. In a generalized version of this theorem, closure under filtered colimits is required. However, in some special cases, such as finite-sorted equational theories and ordered algebraic theories, the theorem holds without assuming closure under filtered colimits. We call this phenomenon "filtered colimit elimination," and study a sufficient condition for it. We show that if a locally finitely presentable category A\mathscr{A} satisfies a noetherian-like condition, then filtered colimit elimination holds in the generalized Birkhoff's theorem for algebras relative to A\mathscr{A}.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2309.05304,
  title  = {Filtered colimit elimination from Birkhoff's variety theorem},
  author = {Yuto Kawase},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2309.05304},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

23 pages; v3: final journal version

R2 v1 2026-06-28T12:17:47.103Z