A COMPUTABLE FUNCTOR FROM GRAPHS TO FIELDS

Fried and Kollár constructed a fully faithful functor from the category of graphs to the category of fields. We give a new construction of such a functor and use it to resolve a longstanding open problem in computable model theory, by showing that for every nontrivial countable structure${\cal S}$, there exists a countable field${\cal F}$of arbitrary characteristic with the same essential computable-model-theoretic properties as${\cal S}$. Along the way, we develop a new “computable category theory”, and prove that our functor and its partially defined inverse (restricted to the categories of countable graphs and countable fields) are computable functors.

Prime models of finite computable dimension

We study the following open question in computable model theory: does there exist a structure of computable dimension two which is the prime model of its first-order theory? We construct an example of such a structure by coding a certain family of c.e. sets with exactly two one-to-one computable enumerations into a directed graph. We also show that there are examples of such structures in the classes of undirected graphs, partial orders, lattices, and integral domains.

Applications of Kolmogorov complexity to computable model theory

In this paper we answer the following well-known open question in computable model theory. Does there exist a computable not ℵ0-categorical saturated structure with a unique computable isomor-phism type? Our answer is affirmative and uses a construction based on Kolmogorov complexity. With a variation of this construction, we also provide an example of an ℵ1-categorical but not ℵ0-categorical saturated -structure with a unique computable isomorphism type. In addition, using the construction we give an example of an ℵ1-categorical but not ℵ0-categorical theory whose only non-computable model is the prime one.

Bounding prime models

A set X is prime bounding if for every complete atomic decidable (CAD) theory T there is a prime model of T decidable in X. It is easy to see that X = 0′ is prime bounding. Denisov claimed that every X <T 0′ is not prime bounding, but we discovered this to be incorrect. Here we give the correct characterization that the prime bounding sets X ≤τ 0′ are exactly the sets which are not low2. Recall that X is low2 if X″ ≤τ 0″. To prove that a low2 set X is not prime bounding we use a 0′ -computable listing of the array of sets {Y : Y ≤τX } to build a CAD theory T which diagonalizes against all potential X-decidable prime models of T, To prove that any non-low2X is indeed prime bounding. we fix a function f ≤TX that is not dominated by a certain 0′-computable function that picks out generators of principal types. Given a CAD theory T. we use f to eventually find, for every formula φ(x̄) con sistent with T. a principal type which contains it. and hence to build an X-decidable prime model of T. We prove the prime bounding property equivalent to several other combinatorial properties, including some related to the limitwise monotonic functions which have been introduced elsewhere in computable model theory.

Computability-Theoretic Complexity of Countable Structures

Computable model theory, also called effective or recursive model theory, studies algorithmic properties of mathematical structures, their relations, and isomorphisms. These properties can be described syntactically or semantically. One of the major tasks of computable model theory is to obtain, whenever possible, computability-theoretic versions of various classical model-theoretic notions and results. For example, in the 1950's, Fröhlich and Shepherdson realized that the concept of a computable function can make van der Waerden's intuitive notion of an explicit field precise. This led to the notion of a computable structure. In 1960, Rabin proved that every computable field has a computable algebraic closure. However, not every classical result “effectivizes”. Unlike Vaught's theorem that no complete theory has exactly two nonisomorphic countable models, Millar's and Kudaibergenov's result establishes that there is a complete decidable theory that has exactly two nonisomorphic countable models with computable elementary diagrams. In the 1970's, Metakides and Nerode [58], [59] and Remmel [71], [72], [73] used more advanced methods of computability theory to investigate algorithmic properties of fields, vector spaces, and other mathematical structures.