Many problems and conjectures in extremal combinatorics concern polynomial inequalities between homomorphism densities of graphs where we allow edges to have real weights. Using the theory of graph limits, we can equivalently evaluate polynomial expressions in homomorphism densities on kernels W, that is, symmetric, bounded and measurable functions W from $[0,1]^2 \to \mathbb {R}$. In 2011, Hatami and Norin proved a fundamental result that it is undecidable to determine the validity of polynomial inequalities in homomorphism densities for graphons (i.e., the case where the range of W is $[0,1]$, which corresponds to unweighted graphs or, equivalently, to graphs with edge weights between $0$ and $1$). The corresponding problem for more general sets of kernels, for example, for all kernels or for kernels with range $[-1,1]$, remains open. For any $a> 0$, we show undecidability of polynomial inequalities for any set of kernels which contains all kernels with range $\{0,a\}$. This result also answers a question raised by Lovász about finding computationally effective certificates for the validity of homomorphism density inequalities in kernels.

We construct an existentially undecidable complete discretely valued field of mixed characteristic with existentially decidable residue field and decidable algebraic part, answering a question by Anscombe–Fehm in a strong way. Along the way, we construct an existentially decidable field of positive characteristic with an existentially undecidable finite extension, modifying a construction due to Kesavan Thanagopal.

A field K in a ring language $\mathcal {L}$ is finitely undecidable if $\mbox {Cons}(T)$ is undecidable for every nonempty finite $T \subseteq {\mathtt{Th}}(K; \mathcal {L})$. We extend a construction of Ziegler and (among other results) use a first-order classification of Anscombe and Jahnke to prove every NIP henselian nontrivially valued field is finitely undecidable. We conclude (assuming the NIP Fields Conjecture) that every NIP field is finitely undecidable. This work is drawn from the author’s PhD thesis [48, Chapter 3].

For any subset $Z \subseteq {\mathbb {Q}}$, consider the set $S_Z$ of subfields $L\subseteq {\overline {\mathbb {Q}}}$ which contain a co-infinite subset $C \subseteq L$ that is universally definable in L such that $C \cap {\mathbb {Q}}=Z$. Placing a natural topology on the set ${\operatorname {Sub}({\overline {\mathbb {Q}}})}$ of subfields of ${\overline {\mathbb {Q}}}$, we show that if Z is not thin in ${\mathbb {Q}}$, then $S_Z$ is meager in ${\operatorname {Sub}({\overline {\mathbb {Q}}})}$. Here, thin and meager both mean “small”, in terms of arithmetic geometry and topology, respectively. For example, this implies that only a meager set of fields L have the property that the ring of algebraic integers $\mathcal {O}_L$ is universally definable in L. The main tools are Hilbert’s Irreducibility Theorem and a new normal form theorem for existential definitions. The normal form theorem, which may be of independent interest, says roughly that every $\exists $-definable subset of an algebraic extension of ${\mathbb Q}$ is a finite union of single points and projections of hypersurfaces defined by absolutely irreducible polynomials.

We prove that the class of all the rings $\mathbb {Z}/m\mathbb {Z}$ for all $m>1$ is decidable. This gives a positive solution to a problem of Ax asked in his celebrated 1968 paper on the elementary theory of finite fields [1, Problem 5, p. 270]. In our proof, we reduce the problem to the decidability of the ring of adeles $\mathbb {A}_{\mathbb {Q}}$ of $\mathbb {Q}$.

An exponential $\exp $ on an ordered field $(K,+,-,\cdot ,0,1,<)$ is an order-preserving isomorphism from the ordered additive group $(K,+,0,<)$ to the ordered multiplicative group of positive elements $(K^{>0},\cdot ,1,<)$ . The structure $(K,+,-,\cdot ,0,1,<,\exp )$ is then called an ordered exponential field (cf. [6]). A linearly ordered structure $(M,<,\ldots )$ is called o-minimal if every parametrically definable subset of M is a finite union of points and open intervals of M.

The main subject of this thesis is the algebraic and model theoretic examination of o-minimal exponential fields $(K,+,-,\cdot ,0,1,<,\exp )$ whose exponential satisfies the differential equation $\exp ' = \exp $ with initial condition $\exp (0) = 1$ . This study is mainly motivated by the Transfer Conjecture, which states as follows:

Any o-minimal exponential field $(K,+,-,\cdot ,0,1,<,\exp )$ whose exponential satisfies the differential equation $\exp ' = \exp $ with initial condition $\exp (0)=1$ is elementarily equivalent to $\mathbb {R}_{\exp }$ .

Here, $\mathbb {R}_{\exp }$ denotes the real exponential field $(\mathbb {R},+,-,\cdot ,0,1,<,\exp )$ , where $\exp $ denotes the standard exponential $x \mapsto \mathrm {e}^x$ on $\mathbb {R}$ . Moreover, elementary equivalence means that any first-order sentence in the language $\mathcal {L}_{\exp } = \{+,-,\cdot ,0,1, <,\exp \}$ holds for $(K,+,-,\cdot ,0,1,<,\exp )$ if and only if it holds for $\mathbb {R}_{\exp }$ .

The Transfer Conjecture, and thus the study of o-minimal exponential fields, is of particular interest in the light of the decidability of $\mathbb {R}_{\exp }$ . To the date, it is not known if $\mathbb {R}_{\exp }$ is decidable, i.e., whether there exists a procedure determining for a given first-order $\mathcal {L}_{\exp }$ -sentence whether it is true or false in $\mathbb {R}_{\exp }$ . However, under the assumption of Schanuel’s Conjecture—a famous open conjecture from Transcendental Number Theory—a decision procedure for $\mathbb {R}_{\exp }$ exists (cf. [7]). Also a positive answer to the Transfer Conjecture would result in the decidability of $\mathbb {R}_{\exp }$ (cf. [1]). Thus, we study o-minimal exponential fields with regard to the Transfer Conjecture, Schanuel’s Conjecture, and the decidability question of $\mathbb {R}_{\exp }$ .

Overall, we shed light on the valuation theoretic invariants of o-minimal exponential fields—the residue field and the value group—with additional induced structure. Moreover, we explore elementary substructures and extensions of o-minimal exponential fields to the maximal ends—the smallest elementary substructures being prime models and the maximal elementary extensions being contained in the surreal numbers. Further, we draw connections to models of Peano Arithmetic, integer parts, density in real closure, definable Henselian valuations, and strongly NIP ordered fields.

Parts of this thesis were published in [2–5].

Abstract prepared by Lothar Sebastian Krapp

E-mail: sebastian.krapp@uni-konstanz.de

URL: https://d-nb.info/1202012558/34

For a ring R, Hilbert’s Tenth Problem $HTP(R)$ is the set of polynomial equations over R, in several variables, with solutions in R. We view $HTP$ as an enumeration operator, mapping each set W of prime numbers to $HTP(\mathbb {Z}[W^{-1}])$ , which is naturally viewed as a set of polynomials in $\mathbb {Z}[X_1,X_2,\ldots ]$ . It is known that for almost all W, the jump $W'$ does not $1$ -reduce to $HTP(R_W)$ . In contrast, we show that every Turing degree contains a set W for which such a $1$ -reduction does hold: these W are said to be HTP-complete. Continuing, we derive additional results regarding the impossibility that a decision procedure for $W'$ from $HTP(\mathbb {Z}[W^{-1}])$ can succeed uniformly on a set of measure $1$ , and regarding the consequences for the boundary sets of the $HTP$ operator in case $\mathbb {Z}$ has an existential definition in $\mathbb {Q}$ .

Büchi's problem asked whether there exists an integer $M$ such that the surface defined by a system of equations of the form

$$x_{n}^2+x_{n-2}^2=2x_{n-1}^2+2,\quad n=2,\dotsc, M-1,$$

has no integer points other than those that satisfy $\pm x_n=\pm x_0+n$ (the $\pm$ signs are independent). If answered positively, it would imply that there is no algorithm which decides, given an arbitrary system $Q=(q_1,\dotsc,q_r)$ of integral quadratic forms and an arbitrary $r$-tuple $B=(b_1,\dotsc,b_r)$ of integers, whether $Q$ represents $B$ (see T. Pheidas and X. Vidaux, Fund. Math. 185 (2005) 171–194). Thus it would imply the following strengthening of the negative answer to Hilbert's tenth problem: the positive-existential theory of the rational integers in the language of addition and a predicate for the property ‘$x$ is a square’ would be undecidable. Despite some progress, including a conditional positive answer (depending on conjectures of Lang), Büchi's problem remains open.

In this paper we prove the following:

1. an analogue of Büchi's problem in rings of polynomials of characteristic either 0 or $p\geq17$ and for fields of rational functions of characteristic 0; and

2. an analogue of Büchi's problem in fields of rational functions of characteristic $p\geq19$, but only for sequences that satisfy a certain additional hypothesis.

Let $F$ be a field of characteristic either 0 or at least 17 and let $t$ be a variable. Let $L_{t}$ be the first order language which contains symbols for 0 and 1, a symbol for addition, a symbol for the property ‘$x$ is a square’ and symbols for multiplication by each element of the image of $\mathbb{Z}[t]$ in $F[t]$. Let $R$ be a subring of $F(t)$, containing the natural image of $\mathbb{Z}[t]$ in $F(t)$. Assume that one of the following is true:

1. $R\subset F[t]$;

2. the characteristic of $F$ is either 0 or $p\geq19$.