On matroids that are transversal and cotransversal

<p>There are distinct differences between classes of matroids that are closed under principal extensions and those that are not Finite-field-representable matroids are not closed under principal extensions and they exhibit attractive properties like well-quasi-ordering and decidable theories (at least for subclasses with bounded branch-width). Infinite-field-representable matroids, on the other hand, are closed under principal extensions and exhibit none of these behaviours. For example, the class of rank-3 real representable matroids is not well-quasi-ordered and has an undecidable theory. The class of matroids that are transversal and cotransversal is not closed under principal extensions or coprincipal coextentions, so we expect it to behave more like the class of finite-field-representable matroids. This thesis is invested in exploring properties in the aforementioned class. A major idea that has inspired the thesis is the investigation of well-quasi-ordered classes in the world of matroids that are transversal and cotransversal. We conjecture that any minor-closed class with bounded branch-width containing matroids that are transversal and cotransversal is well-quasi-ordered. In Chapter 8 of the thesis, we prove this is true for lattice-path matroids, a well-behaved class that falls in this intersection. The general class of lattice-path matroids is not well-quasi-ordered as it contains an infinite antichain of so-called ‘notch matroids’. The interesting phenomenon that we observe is that this is essentially the only antichain in this class, that is, any minor-closed family of lattice-path matroids that contains only finitely many notch matroids is well-quasi-ordered. This answers a question posed by Jim Geelen. Another question that drove the research was recognising fundamental transversal matroids, since these matroids are also cotransversal. We prove that this problem in general is in NP and conjecture that it is NP-complete. We later explore this question for the classes of lattice-path and bicircular matroids. We are successful in finding polynomial-time algorithms in both classes that identify fundamental transversal matroids. We end this part by investigating the intersection of bicircular and cobicircular matroids. We define a specific class - whirly-swirls - and conjecture that eventually any matroid in the above mentioned intersection belongs to this class.</p>

On matroids that are transversal and cotransversal

<p>There are distinct differences between classes of matroids that are closed under principal extensions and those that are not Finite-field-representable matroids are not closed under principal extensions and they exhibit attractive properties like well-quasi-ordering and decidable theories (at least for subclasses with bounded branch-width). Infinite-field-representable matroids, on the other hand, are closed under principal extensions and exhibit none of these behaviours. For example, the class of rank-3 real representable matroids is not well-quasi-ordered and has an undecidable theory. The class of matroids that are transversal and cotransversal is not closed under principal extensions or coprincipal coextentions, so we expect it to behave more like the class of finite-field-representable matroids. This thesis is invested in exploring properties in the aforementioned class. A major idea that has inspired the thesis is the investigation of well-quasi-ordered classes in the world of matroids that are transversal and cotransversal. We conjecture that any minor-closed class with bounded branch-width containing matroids that are transversal and cotransversal is well-quasi-ordered. In Chapter 8 of the thesis, we prove this is true for lattice-path matroids, a well-behaved class that falls in this intersection. The general class of lattice-path matroids is not well-quasi-ordered as it contains an infinite antichain of so-called ‘notch matroids’. The interesting phenomenon that we observe is that this is essentially the only antichain in this class, that is, any minor-closed family of lattice-path matroids that contains only finitely many notch matroids is well-quasi-ordered. This answers a question posed by Jim Geelen. Another question that drove the research was recognising fundamental transversal matroids, since these matroids are also cotransversal. We prove that this problem in general is in NP and conjecture that it is NP-complete. We later explore this question for the classes of lattice-path and bicircular matroids. We are successful in finding polynomial-time algorithms in both classes that identify fundamental transversal matroids. We end this part by investigating the intersection of bicircular and cobicircular matroids. We define a specific class - whirly-swirls - and conjecture that eventually any matroid in the above mentioned intersection belongs to this class.</p>

Orderable groups, elementary theory, and the Kaplansky conjecture

We show that each of the classes of left-orderable groups and orderable groups is a quasivariety with undecidable theory. In the case of orderable groups, we find an explicit set of universal axioms. We then consider the relationship with the Kaplansky group rings conjecture and show that {{\mathcal{K}}} , the class of groups which satisfy the conjecture, is the model class of a set of universal sentences in the language of group theory. We also give a characterization of when two groups in {{\mathcal{K}}} or more generally two torsion-free groups are universally equivalent.

DECIDABILITY FOR THEORIES OF MODULES OVER VALUATION DOMAINS

Extending work of Puninski, Puninskaya and Toffalori in [5], we show that if V is an effectively given valuation domain then the theory of all V-modules is decidable if and only if there exists an algorithm which, given a, b ε V, answers whether a ε rad(bV). This was conjectured in [5] for valuation domains with dense value group, where it was proved for valuation domains with dense archimedean value group. The only ingredient missing from [5] to extend the result to valuation domains with dense value group or infinite residue field is an algorithm which decides inclusion for finite unions of Ziegler open sets. We go on to give an example of a valuation domain with infinite Krull dimension, which has decidable theory of modules with respect to one effective presentation and undecidable theory of modules with respect to another. We show that for this to occur infinite Krull dimension is necessary.

Undecidable semiassociative relation algebras

If K is a class of semiassociative relation algebras and K contains the relation algebra of all binary relations on a denumerable set, then the word problem for the free algebra over K on one generator is unsolvable. This result implies that the set of sentences which are provable in the formalism ℒw× is an undecidable theory. A stronger algebraic result shows that the set of logically valid sentences in ℒw× forms a hereditarily undecidable theory in ℒw×. These results generalize similar theorems, due to Tarski, concerning relation algebras and the formalism ℒ×.

The theory of the recursively enumerable weak truth-table degrees is undecidable

We show that the partial order of -sets under inclusion is elementarily definable with parameters in the semilattice of r.e. wtt-degrees. Using a result of E. Herrmann, we can deduce that this semilattice has an undecidable theory, thereby solving an open problem of P. Odifreddi.

Two Undecidability Results using Modified Boolean Powers

In this paper we will give brief proofs of two results on the undecidability of a first-order theory using a construction which we call a modified Boolean power. Modified Boolean powers were introduced by Burris in late 1978, and the first results were announced in [2]. Subsequently we succeeded in using this construction to prove the results in this paper, namely Ershov's theorem that every variety of groups containing a finite non-abelian group has an undecidable theory, and Zamjatin's theorem that a variety of rings with unity which is not generated by finitely many finite fields has an undecidable theory. Later McKenzie further modified the construction mentioned above, and combined it with a variant of one of Zamjatin's constructions to prove the sweeping main result of [3]. The proofs given here have the advantage (over the original proofs) that they use a single construction.

Partial orderings of fixed finite dimension: Model companions and density

The model companions of the theories of n-dimensional partial orderings and n-dimensional distributive lattices are found for each finite n. Each model companion is given as the theory of a structure which is specified. The model companions are model completions only for n = 1. The structure of the model companion of the theory of n-dimensional partial orderings is a lattice only for n = 1. Each of the model companions is seen to be finitely axiomatizable, and a set of basic formulas, each of which is existential, is specified for each model companion. Finally a topolo-gically natural notion of dense n-dimensional partial ordering is introduced and shown to have a finitely axiomatizable undecidable theory.In this paragraph we shall define the notion of model companion (cf. [4]) and indicate the way in which we shall demonstrate that one theory is the model companion of another in this paper. For T and T* theories in a common language, T* is called a model companion of T if and only if the following two conditions are satisfied: first, Tand T* are mutually model consistent, which means that every model of either is embeddable in some model of the other; secondly, T* is model complete, which means that if and are both models of T* and is a substructure of , then is an elementary substructure of . A definition of model completion may be obtained by strengthening the notion of model companion to also require that T* admit elimination of quantifiers. In all of our examples the model companion will have only one countable model. Although the ℵ0-categoricity of the model companions follows from Saracino [8], we give specific proofs since these proofs fit so naturally in our analyses.