3,548 research outputs found
Elliptic divisibility sequences and undecidable problems about rational points
Julia Robinson has given a first-order definition of the rational integers Z
in the rational numbers Q by a formula (\forall \exists \forall \exists)(F=0)
where the \forall-quantifiers run over a total of 8 variables, and where F is a
polynomial. This implies that the \Sigma_5-theory of Q is undecidable. We prove
that a conjecture about elliptic curves provides an interpretation of Z in Q
with quantifier complexity \forall \exists, involving only one universally
quantified variable. This improves the complexity of defining Z in Q in two
ways, and implies that the \Sigma_3-theory, and even the \Pi_2-theory, of Q is
undecidable (recall that Hilbert's Tenth Problem for Q is the question whether
the \Sigma_1-theory of Q is undecidable).
In short, granting the conjecture, there is a one-parameter family of
hypersurfaces over Q for which one cannot decide whether or not they all have a
rational point.
The conjecture is related to properties of elliptic divisibility sequences on
an elliptic curve and its image under rational 2-descent, namely existence of
primitive divisors in suitable residue classes, and we discuss how to prove
weaker-in-density versions of the conjecture and present some heuristics.Comment: 39 pages, uses calrsfs. 3rd version: many small changes, change of
titl
Revisiting Synthesis for One-Counter Automata
We study the (parameter) synthesis problem for one-counter automata with
parameters. One-counter automata are obtained by extending classical
finite-state automata with a counter whose value can range over non-negative
integers and be tested for zero. The updates and tests applicable to the
counter can further be made parametric by introducing a set of integer-valued
variables called parameters. The synthesis problem for such automata asks
whether there exists a valuation of the parameters such that all infinite runs
of the automaton satisfy some omega-regular property. Lechner showed that (the
complement of) the problem can be encoded in a restricted one-alternation
fragment of Presburger arithmetic with divisibility. In this work (i) we argue
that said fragment, called AERPADPLUS, is unfortunately undecidable.
Nevertheless, by a careful re-encoding of the problem into a decidable
restriction of AERPADPLUS, (ii) we prove that the synthesis problem is
decidable in general and in N2EXP for several fixed omega-regular properties.
Finally, (iii) we give a polynomial-space algorithm for the special case of the
problem where parameters can only be used in tests, and not updates, of the
counter
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