Combinatorial properties of the enhanced principal rank characteristic sequence over finite fields

The enhanced principal rank characteristic sequence (epr-sequence) of a symmetric matrix B ∈ 𝔽 n×n is defined as ℓ1ℓ2· · · ℓ n , where ℓ j ∈ {A, S, N} according to whether all, some but not all, or none of the principal minors of order j of B are nonzero. Building upon the second author’s recent classification of the epr-sequences of symmetric matrices over the field 𝔽 = 𝔽2, we initiate a study of the case 𝔽= 𝔽3. Moreover, epr-sequences over finite fields are shown to have connections to Ramsey theory and coding theory.

Ramsey Theory for Layered Semigroups

We further develop the theory of layered semigroups, as introduced by Farah, Hindman and McLeod, providing a general framework to prove Ramsey statements about such a semigroup $S$. By nonstandard and topological arguments, we show Ramsey statements on $S$ are implied by the existence of coherent sequences in $S$. This framework allows us to formalise and prove many results in Ramsey theory, including Gowers' $\mathrm{FIN}_k$ theorem, the Graham–Rothschild theorem, and Hindman's finite sums theorem. Other highlights include: a simple nonstandard proof of the Graham–Rothschild theorem for strong variable words; a nonstandard proof of Bergelson–Blass–Hindman's partition theorem for located variable words, using a result of Carlson, Hindman and Strauss; and a common generalisation of the latter result and Gowers' theorem, which can be proven in our framework.