Cohomology in Grothendieck Topologies and Lower Bounds in Boolean Complexity

This paper is motivated by questions such as P vs. NP and other questions in Boolean complexity theory. We describe an approach to attacking such questions with cohomology, and we show that using Grothendieck topologies and other ideas from the Grothendieck school gives new hope for such an attack. We focus on circuit depth complexity, and consider only finite topological spaces or Grothendieck topologies based on finite categories; as such, we do not use algebraic geometry or manifolds. Given two sheaves on a Grothendieck topology, their "cohomological complexity" is the sum of the dimensions of their Ext groups. We seek to model the depth complexity of Boolean functions by the cohomological complexity of sheaves on a Grothendieck topology. We propose that the logical AND of two Boolean functions will have its corresponding cohomological complexity bounded in terms of those of the two functions using ``virtual zero extensions.'' We propose that the logical negation of a function will have its corresponding cohomological complexity equal to that of the original function using duality theory. We explain these approaches and show that they are stable under pullbacks and base change. It is the subject of ongoing work to achieve AND and negation bounds simultaneously in a way that yields an interesting depth lower bound.Comment: 70 pages, abstract corrected and modifie

Pincherle's theorem in Reverse Mathematics and computability theory

We study the logical and computational properties of basic theorems of uncountable mathematics, in particular Pincherle's theorem, published in 1882. This theorem states that a locally bounded function is bounded on certain domains, i.e. one of the first 'local-to-global' principles. It is well-known that such principles in analysis are intimately connected to (open-cover) compactness, but we nonetheless exhibit fundamental differences between compactness and Pincherle's theorem. For instance, the main question of Reverse Mathematics, namely which set existence axioms are necessary to prove Pincherle's theorem, does not have an unique or unambiguous answer, in contrast to compactness. We establish similar differences for the computational properties of compactness and Pincherle's theorem. We establish the same differences for other local-to-global principles, even going back to Weierstrass. We also greatly sharpen the known computational power of compactness, for the most shared with Pincherle's theorem however. Finally, countable choice plays an important role in the previous, we therefore study this axiom together with the intimately related Lindel\"of lemma.Comment: 43 pages, one appendix, to appear in Annals of Pure and Applied Logi

Vector Expected Utility and Attitudes toward Variation

This paper analyzes a model of decision under ambiguity, deemed vector expected utility or VEU. According to the proposed model, an act f, mapping states of nature to prizes, is evaluated via the sum of (1) a baseline expected-utility term, and (2) an ambiguity-adjustment term. The adjustment term may be interpreted as reflecting the variability of the act f around its baseline expected utility; in particular, like classical statistical measures of variability, it is invariant to location and sign changes. A behavioral characterization of the VEU model is provided. Furthermore, an updating rule for VEU preferences is proposed and characterized. The suggested updating rule facilitates the analysis of sophisticated dynamic choice with VEU preferences.ambiguity, reference prior, vector measures