Rank Logic is Dead, Long Live Rank Logic!

Motivated by the search for a logic for polynomial time, we study rank logic (FPR) which extends fixed-point logic with counting (FPC) by operators that determine the rank of matrices over finite fields. While FPR can express most of the known queries that separate FPC from PTIME, nearly nothing was known about the limitations of its expressive power. In our first main result we show that the extensions of FPC by rank operators over different prime fields are incomparable. This solves an open question posed by Dawar and Holm and also implies that rank logic, in its original definition with a distinct rank operator for every field, fails to capture polynomial time. In particular we show that the variant of rank logic FPR* with an operator that uniformly expresses the matrix rank over finite fields is more expressive than FPR. One important step in our proof is to consider solvability logic FPS which is the analogous extension of FPC by quantifiers which express the solvability problem for linear equation systems over finite fields. Solvability logic can easily be embedded into rank logic, but it is open whether it is a strict fragment. In our second main result we give a partial answer to this question: in the absence of counting, rank operators are strictly more expressive than solvability quantifiers

The Model-Theoretic Expressiveness of Propositional Proof Systems

We establish new, and surprisingly tight, connections between propositional proof complexity and finite model theory. Specifically, we show that the power of several propositional proof systems, such as Horn resolution, bounded width resolution, and the polynomial calculus of bounded degree, can be characterised in a precise sense by variants of fixed-point logics that are of fundamental importance in descriptive complexity theory. Our main results are that Horn resolution has the same expressive power as least fixed-point logic, that bounded width resolution captures existential least fixed-point logic, and that the (monomial restriction of the) polynomial calculus of bounded degree solves precisely the problems definable in fixed-point logic with counting

Definability of linear equation systems over groups and rings

Motivated by the quest for a logic for PTIME and recent insights that the descriptive complexity of problems from linear algebra is a crucial aspect of this problem, we study the solvability of linear equation systems over finite groups and rings from the viewpoint of logical (inter-)definability. All problems that we consider are decidable in polynomial time, but not expressible in fixed-point logic with counting. They also provide natural candidates for a separation of polynomial time from rank logics, which extend fixed-point logics by operators for determining the rank of definable matrices and which are sufficient for solvability problems over fields. Based on the structure theory of finite rings, we establish logical reductions among various solvability problems. Our results indicate that all solvability problems for linear equation systems that separate fixed-point logic with counting from PTIME can be reduced to solvability over commutative rings. Moreover, we prove closure properties for classes of queries that reduce to solvability over rings, which provides normal forms for logics extended with solvability operators. We conclude by studying the extent to which fixed-point logic with counting can express problems in linear algebra over finite commutative rings, generalising known results on the logical definability of linear-algebraic problems over finite fields

A Finite-Model-Theoretic View on Propositional Proof Complexity

We establish new, and surprisingly tight, connections between propositional proof complexity and finite model theory. Specifically, we show that the power of several propositional proof systems, such as Horn resolution, bounded-width resolution, and the polynomial calculus of bounded degree, can be characterised in a precise sense by variants of fixed-point logics that are of fundamental importance in descriptive complexity theory. Our main results are that Horn resolution has the same expressive power as least fixed-point logic, that bounded-width resolution captures existential least fixed-point logic, and that the polynomial calculus with bounded degree over the rationals solves precisely the problems definable in fixed-point logic with counting. By exploring these connections further, we establish finite-model-theoretic tools for proving lower bounds for the polynomial calculus over the rationals and over finite fields