On the Classification of Vertex-Transitive Structures

We consider the classification problem for several classes of countable structures which are “vertex-transitive”, meaning that the automorphism group acts transitively on the elements. (This is sometimes called homogeneous.) We show that the classification of countable vertex-transitive digraphs and partial orders are Borel complete. We identify the complexity of the classification of countable vertex-transitive linear orders. Finally we show that the classification of vertex-transitive countable tournaments is properly above E0 in complexity

Games orbits play and obstructions to Borel reducibility

We introduce a new, game-theoretic approach to anti-classification results for orbit equivalence relations. Within this framework, we give a short conceptual proof of Hjorth's turbulence theorem. We also introduce a new dynamical criterion providing an obstruction to classification by orbits of CLI groups. We apply this criterion to the relation of equality of countable sets of reals, and the relations of unitary conjugacy of unitary and selfadjoint operators on the separable infinite-dimensional Hilbert space.Comment: 13 pages. Final version, to appear in Groups, Geometry, and Dynamic

Classification of Vertex-Transitive Structures

When one thinks of objects with a significant level of symmetry it is natural to expect there to be a simple classification. However, this leads to an interesting problem in that research has revealed the existence of highly symmetric objects which are very complex when considered within the framework of Borel complexity. The tension between these two seemingly contradictory notions leads to a wealth of natural questions which have yet to be answered. Borel complexity theory is an area of logic where the relative complexities of classification problems are studied. Within this theory, we regard a classification problem as an equivalence relation on a Polish space. An example of such is the isomorphism relation on the class of countable groups. The notion of a Borel reduction allows one to compare complexities of various classification problems. The central aim of this research is determine the Borel complexities of various classes of vertex-transitive structures, or structures for which every pair or elements are equivalent under some element of its automorphism group. John Clemens has shown that the class of vertex-transitive graphs has maximum possible complexity, namely Borel completeness. On the other hand, we show that the class of vertex-transitive linear orderings does not. We explore this phenomenon further by considering other natural classes of vertex-transitive structures such as tournaments and partial orderings. In doing so, we discover that several other complexities arise for classes of vertex-transitive structures

Structures and dynamics

Our results are divided in three independent chapters. In Chapter 2, we show that if g is a generic isometry of a generic subspace X of the Urysohn metric space U then g does not extend to a full isometry of U. The same applies to the Urysohn sphere S. Let M be a Fraisse L-structure, where L is a relational countable language and M has no algebraicity. We provide necessary and sufficient conditions for the following to hold: "For a generic substructure A of M, every automorphism f in Aut(A) extends to a full automorphism f' in Aut(M)." From our analysis, a dichotomy arises and some structural results are derived that, in particular, apply to omega-stable Fraisse structures without algebraicity. Results in Chapter 2 are separately published in [Pan15]. In Chapter 3, we develop a game-theoretic approach to anti-classi cation results for orbit equivalence relations and use this development to reorganize conceptually the proof of Hjorth's turbulence theorem. We also introduce a new dynamical criterion providing an obstruction to classi cation by orbits of Polish groups which admit a complete left invariant metric (CLI groups). We apply this criterion to the relation of equality of countable sets of reals and we show that the relations of unitary conjugacy of unitary and selfadjoint operators on the separable in nite-dimensional Hilbert space are not classi able by CLI-group actions. Finally we show how one can adapt this approach to the context of Polish groupoids. Chapter 3 is joint work with Martino Lupini and can also be found in [LP16]. In Chapter 4, we develop a theory of projective Fraisse limits in the spirit of Irwin-Solecki. The structures here will additionally support dual semantics as in [Sol10, Sol12]. Let Y be a compact metrizable space and let G be a closed subgroup of Homeo(Y ). We show that there is always a projective Fraisse limit K and a closed equivalence relation r on its domain K that is de finable in K, so that the quotient of K under r is homeomorphic to Y and the projection of K to Y induces a continuous group embedding of Aut(K) in G with dense image. The main results of Chapter 4 can also be found in [Pan16]