1,606 research outputs found
Locally Finite Languages
We investigate properties of locally finite languages introduced by J-P. Ressayre. These languages are defined by locally finite sentences and generalize languages recognized by automata or defined by monadic second order sentences. We give many examples, showing that numerous context free languages are locally finite. Then we study closure properties of the family LOC of locally finite languages, and show that most undecidability results that hold for context free languages may be extended to locally finite languages. In a second part, we consider an extension of these languages to infinite and transfinite length words. We prove that each alpha-language which is recognized by a Büchi automaton ( where alpha is an infinite ordinal and alpha < omega^omega ) is defined by a locally finite sentence. This result, combined with a preceding one provides a generalization of Büchi's result about decidability of monadic second order theory of the structure (alpha , <)
Local Sentences and Mahlo Cardinals
Local sentences were introduced by J.-P. Ressayre who proved certain
remarkable stretching theorems establishing the equivalence between the
existence of finite models for these sentences and the existence of some
infinite well ordered models. Two of these stretching theorems were only proved
under certain large cardinal axioms but the question of their exact
(consistency) strength was left open in [O. Finkel and J.-P. Ressayre,
Stretchings, Journal of Symbolic Logic, Volume 61 (2), 1996, p. 563-585 ].
Here, we solve this problem, using a combinatorial result of J. H. Schmerl. In
fact, we show that the stretching principles are equivalent to the existence of
n-Mahlo cardinals for appropriate integers n. This is done by proving first
that for each integer n, there is a local sentence phi_n which has well ordered
models of order type alpha, for every infinite ordinal alpha > omega which is
not an n-Mahlo cardinal
Topological Complexity of Locally Finite omega-Languages
to appear in Archive for Mathematical LogicInternational audienceLocally finite omega-languages were introduced by Ressayre in [Formal Languages defined by the Underlying Structure of their Words, Journal of Symbolic Logic, 53 (4), December 1988, p. 1009-1026]. These languages are defined by local sentences and extend omega-languages accepted by Büchi automata or defined by monadic second order sentences. We investigate their topological complexity. All locally finite omega languages are analytic sets, the class LOC_omega of locally finite omega-languages meets all finite levels of the Borel hierarchy and there exist some locally finite omega-languages which are Borel sets of infinite rank or even analytic but non-Borel sets. This gives partial answers to questions of Simonnet [Automates et Théorie Descriptive, Ph. D. Thesis, Université Paris 7, March 1992] and of Duparc, Finkel, and Ressayre [Computer Science and the Fine Structure of Borel Sets, Theoretical Computer Science, Volume 257 (1-2), 2001, p.85-105]
On Decidability Properties of Local Sentences
Local (first order) sentences, introduced by Ressayre, enjoy very nice
decidability properties, following from some stretching theorems stating some
remarkable links between the finite and the infinite model theory of these
sentences. We prove here several additional results on local sentences. The
first one is a new decidability result in the case of local sentences whose
function symbols are at most unary: one can decide, for every regular cardinal
k whether a local sentence phi has a model of order type k. Secondly we show
that this result can not be extended to the general case. Assuming the
consistency of an inaccessible cardinal we prove that the set of local
sentences having a model of order type omega_2 is not determined by the
axiomatic system ZFC + GCH, where GCH is the generalized continuum hypothesi
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