The degree spectrum of a countable structure is the set of all Turing degrees of presentations of that structure. We show that every nonlow Turing degree lies in the spectrum of some differentially closed field (of characteristic 0, with a single derivation) whose spectrum does not contain the computable degree 0. Indeed, this is an equivalence, for we also show that if this spectrum contained a low degree, then it would contain the degree 0. From these results we conclude that the spectra of differentially closed fields of characteristic 0 are exactly the jump-preimages of spectra of automorphically nontrivial graphs.

Let G be a countably infinite discrete group, let βG be the Stone–Čech compactification of G, and let ${G^{\rm{*}}} = \beta G \setminus G$. An idempotent $p \in {G^{\rm{*}}}$ is left (right) maximal if for every idempotent $q \in {G^{\rm{*}}}$, pq = p (qp = P) implies qp = q (qp = q). An idempotent $p \in {G^{\rm{*}}}$ is strongly right maximal if the equation xp = p has the unique solution x = p in G*. We show that there is an idempotent $p \in {G^{\rm{*}}}$ which is both left maximal and strongly right maximal.

The derivation on the differential-valued field Tlog of logarithmic transseries induces on its value group ${{\rm{\Gamma }}_{{\rm{log}}}}$ a certain map ψ. The structure ${\rm{\Gamma }} = \left( {{{\rm{\Gamma }}_{{\rm{log}}}},\psi } \right)$ is a divisible asymptotic couple. In [7] we began a study of the first-order theory of $\left( {{{\rm{\Gamma }}_{{\rm{log}}}},\psi } \right)$ where, among other things, we proved that the theory $T_{{\rm{log}}} = Th\left( {{\rm{\Gamma }}_{{\rm{log}}} ,\psi } \right)$ has a universal axiomatization, is model complete and admits elimination of quantifiers (QE) in a natural first-order language. In that paper we posed the question whether Tlog has NIP (i.e., the Non-Independence Property). In this paper, we answer that question in the affirmative: Tlog does have NIP. Our method of proof relies on a complete survey of the 1-types of Tlog, which, in the presence of QE, is equivalent to a characterization of all simple extensions ${\rm{\Gamma }}\left\langle \alpha \right\rangle$ of ${\rm{\Gamma }}$. We also show that Tlog does not have the Steinitz exchange property and we weigh in on the relationship between models of Tlog and the so-called precontraction groups of [9].

Monadic second order logic and linear temporal logic are two logical formalisms that can be used to describe classes of infinite words, i.e., first-order models based on the natural numbers with order, successor, and finitely many unary predicate symbols.

Monadic second order logic over infinite words (S1S) can alternatively be described as a first-order logic interpreted in ${\cal P}\left( \omega \right)$, the power set Boolean algebra of the natural numbers, equipped with modal operators for ‘initial’, ‘next’, and ‘future’ states. We prove that the first-order theory of this structure is the model companion of a class of algebras corresponding to a version of linear temporal logic (LTL) without until.

The proof makes crucial use of two classical, nontrivial results from the literature, namely the completeness of LTL with respect to the natural numbers, and the correspondence between S1S-formulas and Büchi automata.

Our main result is the equivalence of two notions of reducibility between structures. One is a syntactical notion which is an effective version of interpretability as in model theory, and the other one is a computational notion which is a strengthening of the well-known Medvedev reducibility. We extend our result to effective bi-interpretability and also to effective reductions between classes of structures.

We introduce the concept of a locally finite abstract elementary class and develop the theory of disjoint$\left( { \le \lambda ,k} \right)$-amalgamation) for such classes. From this we find a family of complete ${L_{{\omega _1},\omega }}$ sentences ${\phi _r}$ that a) homogeneously characterizes ${\aleph _r}$ (improving results of Hjorth [11] and Laskowski–Shelah [13] and answering a question of [21]), while b) the ${\phi _r}$ provide the first examples of a class of models of a complete sentence in ${L_{{\omega _1},\omega }}$ where the spectrum of cardinals in which amalgamation holds is other that none or all.

We prove that for p-optimal fields (a very large subclass of p-minimal fields containing all the known examples) a cell decomposition theorem follows from methods going back to Denef’s paper [7]. We derive from it the existence of definable Skolem functions and strong p-minimality. Then we turn to strongly p-minimal fields satisfying the Extreme Value Property—a property which in particular holds in fields which are elementarily equivalent to a p-adic one. For such fields K, we prove that every definable subset of K × Kd whose fibers over K are inverse images by the valuation of subsets of the value group is semialgebraic. Combining the two we get a preparation theorem for definable functions on p-optimal fields satisfying the Extreme Value Property, from which it follows that infinite sets definable over such fields are in definable bijection iff they have the same dimension.

In [8], the third author defined a reducibility $\le _w^{\rm{*}}$ that lets us compare the computing power of structures of any cardinality. In [6], the first two authors showed that the ordered field of reals ${\cal R}$ lies strictly above certain related structures. In the present paper, we show that $\left( {{\cal R},exp} \right) \equiv _w^{\rm{*}}{\cal R}$ . More generally, for the weak-looking structure ${\cal R}$ ℚ consisting of the real numbers with just the ordering and constants naming the rationals, all o-minimal expansions of ${\cal R}$ ℚ are equivalent to ${\cal R}$ . Using this, we show that for any analytic function f, $\left( {{\cal R},f} \right) \equiv _w^{\rm{*}}{\cal R}$ . (This is so even if $\left( {{\cal R},f} \right)$ is not o-minimal.)

We show that dp-minimal valued fields are henselian and give classifications of dp-minimal ordered abelian groups and dp-minimal ordered fields without additional structure.

In this paper, we prove the decidability of the theory of ℚp in the language (+, −,⋅, 0, 1, Pn(n ∈ ℕ)) expanded by a predicate for the multiplicative subgroup nℤ (where n is a fixed integer). There are two cases: if $v_p \left( n \right) > 0$ then the group determines a cross-section and we get an axiomatization of the theory and a result of quantifier elimination. If $v_p \left( n \right) = 0$, then we use the Mann property of the group to get an axiomatization of the theory.

Suppose that ${\cal M}$ is countable, binary, primitive, homogeneous, and simple. We prove that the SU-rank of the complete theory of ${\cal M}$ is 1 and hence 1-based. It follows that ${\cal M}$ is a random structure. The conclusion that ${\cal M}$ is a random structure does not hold if the binarity condition is removed, as witnessed by the generic tetrahedron-free 3-hypergraph. However, to show that the generic tetrahedron-free 3-hypergraph is 1-based requires some work (it is known that it has the other properties) since this notion is defined in terms of imaginary elements. This is partly why we also characterize equivalence relations which are definable without parameters in the context of ω-categorical structures with degenerate algebraic closure. Another reason is that such characterizations may be useful in future research about simple (nonbinary) homogeneous structures.

Given a metric space (X , d), equipped with a locally finite Borel measure, a measurable set $A \subseteq X$ is a density set if the points where A has density 1 are exactly the points of A. We study the topological complexity of the density sets of the real line with Lebesgue measure, with the tools—and from the point of view—of descriptive set theory. In this context a density set is always in $\Pi _3^0$. We single out a family of true $\Pi _3^0$ density sets, an example of true $\Sigma _2^0$ density set and finally one of true $\Pi _2^0$ density set.

Starting from large cardinals we construct a model of ZFC in which the GCH fails everywhere, but such that GCH holds in its HOD. The result answers a question of Sy Friedman. Also, relative to the existence of large cardinals, we produce a model of ZFC + GCH such that GCH fails everywhere in its HOD.

We consider some natural sets of real numbers arising in ergodic theory and show that they are, respectively, complete in the classes ${\cal D}_2 \left( {{\bf{\Pi }}_3^0 } \right)$ and ${\cal D}_\omega \left( {{\bf{\Pi }}_3^0 } \right)$, that is, the class of sets which are 2-differences (respectively, ω-differences) of ${\bf{\Pi }}_3^0 $ sets.

We characterize the structural impediments to the existence of Borel perfect matchings for acyclic locally countable Borel graphs admitting a Borel selection of finitely many ends from their connected components. In particular, this yields the existence of Borel matchings for such graphs of degree at least three. As a corollary, it follows that acyclic locally countable Borel graphs of degree at least three generating μ-hyperfinite equivalence relations admit μ-measurable matchings. We establish the analogous result for Baire measurable matchings in the locally finite case, and provide a counterexample in the locally countable case.

We show that from infinitely many supercompact cardinals one can force a model of ZFC where both the tree property and the stationary reflection hold at אω2+1.

Gödel introduced the original provability predicate in the proofs of Gödel’s incompleteness theorems, and Rosser defined a new one. They are equivalent in the standard model ${\mathbb N}$ of arithmetic or any nonstandard model of ${\rm PA} + {\rm Con_{PA}} $, but the behavior of Rosser’s provability predicate is different from the original one in nonstandard models of ${\rm PA} + \neg {\rm Con_{PA}} $. In this paper, we investigate several properties of the derivability conditions for Rosser provability predicates, and prove the existence of a Rosser provability predicate with which we can define any consistent complete extension of ${\rm PA}$ in some nonstandard model of ${\rm PA} + \neg {\rm Con_{PA}} $. We call it a universal Rosser predicate. It follows from the theorem that the true arithmetic ${\rm TA}$ can be defined as the set of theorems of ${\rm PA}$ in terms of a universal Rosser predicate in some nonstandard model of ${\rm PA} + \neg {\rm Con_{PA}} $. By using this theorem, we also give a new proof of a theorem that there is a nonstandard model M of ${\rm PA} + \neg {\rm Con_{PA}} $ such that if N is an initial segment of M which is a model of ${\rm PA} + {\rm Con_{PA}} $ then every theorem of ${\rm PA}$ in N is a theorem of $\rm PA$ in ${\mathbb N}$. In addition, we prove that there is a Rosser provability predicate such that the set of theorems of $\rm PA$ in terms of the Rosser provability predicate is inconsistent in any nonstandard model of ${\rm PA} + \neg {\rm Con_{PA}} $.

In this note we study generic existence of maximal almost disjoint (MAD) families. Among other results we prove that Cohen-indestructible families exist generically if and only if b = c. We obtain analogous results for other combinatorial properties of MAD families, including Sacks-indestructibility and being +-Ramsey.

Let T be an NIP ${\cal L}$-theory and $\mathop T\limits^\~ $ be an enrichment. We give a sufficient condition on $\mathop T\limits^\~$ for the underlying ${\cal L}$-type of any definable (respectively invariant) type over a model of $\mathop T\limits^\~$ to be definable (respectively invariant). These results are then applied to Scanlon’s model completion of valued differential fields.

We investigate the complexity of isomorphisms of computable structures on cones in the Turing degrees. We show that, on a cone, every structure has a strong degree of categoricity, and that degree of categoricity is ${\rm{\Delta }}_\alpha ^0 $-complete for some α. To prove this, we extend Montalbán’s η-system framework to deal with limit ordinals in a more general way. We also show that, for any fixed computable structure, there is an ordinal α and a cone in the Turing degrees such that the exact complexity of computing an isomorphism between the given structure and another copy ${\cal B}$ in the cone is a c.e. degree in ${\rm{\Delta }}_\alpha ^0\left( {\cal B} \right)$. In each of our theorems the cone in question is clearly described in the beginning of the proof, so it is easy to see how the theorems can be viewed as general theorems with certain effectiveness conditions.