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Questions tagged [model-theory]

Model theory is the branch of mathematical logic which deals with the connection between a formal language and its interpretations, or models.

59 votes
6 answers
7k views

Has decidability got something to do with primes?

Note: I have modified the question to make it clearer and more relevant. That makes some of references to the old version no longer hold. I hope the victims won't be furious over this. Motivation: ...
abcdxyz's user avatar
  • 2,774
12 votes
1 answer
602 views

Can $\mathcal{L}_{\omega_1,\omega}$ detect $\mathcal{L}_{\omega_1,\omega}$-equivalence?

Roughly speaking, say that a logic $\mathcal{L}$ is self-equivalence-defining (SED) iff for each finite signature $\Sigma$ there is a larger signature $\Sigma'\supseteq\Sigma\sqcup\{A,B\}$ with $A,B$ ...
Noah Schweber's user avatar
13 votes
2 answers
705 views

ω-categorical, ω-stable structure with trivial geometry not definable in the pure set

Briefly, my question is the following. does every countable ω-categorical, ω-stable structure with disintegrated strongly minimal sets interpret in the countable pure set? By countable pure set I ...
Szymon Toruńczyk's user avatar
8 votes
0 answers
249 views

Monadic second-order theories of the reals

I’m looking for a survey of monadic second-order theories of the reals. I’m starting from a 1985 survey by Gurevich which says (p 505) that true arithmetic can be reduced to “the monadic theory of ...
user avatar
67 votes
3 answers
4k views

Is there a 0-1 law for the theory of groups?

Several months ago, Dominik asked the question Is there a 0-1 law for the theory of groups? on mathstackexchange, but although his question received attention there is still no answer. By asking the ...
Seirios's user avatar
  • 2,361
66 votes
5 answers
6k views

Heuristic argument that finite simple groups _ought_ to be "classifiable"?

Obviously there exists a list of the finite simple groups, but why should it be a nice list, one that you can write down? Solomon's AMS article goes some way toward a historical / technical ...
Tim Campion's user avatar
  • 62.6k
42 votes
8 answers
12k views

What are some proofs of Godel's Theorem which are *essentially different* from the original proof?

I am looking for examples of proofs of Godel's (First) Incompleteness Theorem which are essentially different from (Rosser's improvement of) Godel's original proof. This is partly inspired by ...
38 votes
4 answers
4k views

Illustrating Edward Nelson's Worldview with Nonstandard Models of Arithmetic

Mathematician Edward Nelson is known for his extreme views on the foundations of mathematics, variously described as "ultrafintism" or "strict finitism" (Nelson's preferred term), which came into the ...
Keshav Srinivasan's user avatar
37 votes
6 answers
3k views

What are the advantages of the more abstract approaches to nonstandard analysis?

This question does not concern the comparative merits of standard (SA) and nonstandard (NSA) analysis but rather a comparison of different approaches to NSA. What are the concrete advantages of the ...
Mikhail Katz's user avatar
  • 15.8k
22 votes
5 answers
1k views

What is the spectrum of possible cofinality types for cuts in an ordered field? Or in a model of the hyperreals? Or in a nonstandard model of arithmetic?

I am interested to know the full range of possibilities for the cofinality type of cuts in an ordered field and in other structures, such as nonstandard models of arithmetic. Definitions. ...
Joel David Hamkins's user avatar
15 votes
5 answers
3k views

Is it necessary that model of theory is a set?

From Model Theory article from wikipedia : "A theory is satisfiable if it has a model $ M\models T$ i.e. a structure (of the appropriate signature) which satisfies all the sentences in the set $T$". ...
kakaz's user avatar
  • 1,616
14 votes
2 answers
971 views

"Fraïssé limits" without amalgamation

All structures are countable with countable signature. Given a structure $\mathcal{A}$, the age of $\mathcal{A}$, $Age(\mathcal{A})$, is the set of structures isomorphic to finitely-generated ...
Noah Schweber's user avatar
10 votes
2 answers
1k views

A question about open induction

An old theorem of A. J. Wilkie (Some results and problems on weak systems of arithmetic, Logic Colloquium '77) asserts that a discretely ordered ring $R$ can be extended to a model of open induction ...
Sidney Raffer's user avatar
8 votes
3 answers
1k views

Tractability of forcing-invariant statements under large cardinals

It is usual to mention theorems of the kind: Th. Assume there is a proper class of Woodin cardinals, $\mathbb{P} $ is a partial order and $G \subseteq \mathbb{P}$ is V-generic, then $V \models \phi \...
Marc Alcobé García's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
1k views

Is there one binary operation foundational for set theory?

The membership relationship "$\in$" is foundational for set theory, in the sense that the axioms of any set theory are formulated in the language of "$\in$". Naturally, the ...
Ioachim Drugus's user avatar

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