Generic Automorphisms and Green Fields

We show that the generic automorphism is axiomatisable in the green field of Poizat (once Morleyised) as well as in the bad fields which are obtained by collapsing this green field to finite Morley rank. As a corollary, we obtain "bad pseudofinite fields" in characteristic 0. In both cases, we give geometric axioms. In fact, a general framework is presented allowing this kind of axiomatisation. We deduce from various constructibility results for algebraic varieties in characteristic 0 that the green and bad fields fall into this framework. Finally, we give similar results for other theories obtained by Hrushovski amalgamation, e.g. the free fusion of two strongly minimal theories having the definable multiplicity property. We also close a gap in the construction of the bad field, showing that the codes may be chosen to be families of strongly minimal sets.Comment: Some minor changes; new: a result of the paper (Cor 4.8) closes a gap in the construction of the bad fiel

On the Scope of the Universal-Algebraic Approach to Constraint Satisfaction

The universal-algebraic approach has proved a powerful tool in the study of the complexity of CSPs. This approach has previously been applied to the study of CSPs with finite or (infinite) omega-categorical templates, and relies on two facts. The first is that in finite or omega-categorical structures A, a relation is primitive positive definable if and only if it is preserved by the polymorphisms of A. The second is that every finite or omega-categorical structure is homomorphically equivalent to a core structure. In this paper, we present generalizations of these facts to infinite structures that are not necessarily omega-categorical. (This abstract has been severely curtailed by the space constraints of arXiv -- please read the full abstract in the article.) Finally, we present applications of our general results to the description and analysis of the complexity of CSPs. In particular, we give general hardness criteria based on the absence of polymorphisms that depend on more than one argument, and we present a polymorphism-based description of those CSPs that are first-order definable (and therefore can be solved in polynomial time).Comment: Extended abstract appeared at 25th Symposium on Logic in Computer Science (LICS 2010). This version will appear in the LMCS special issue associated with LICS 201

Imaginaries in separably closed valued fields

We show that separably closed valued fields of finite imperfection degree (either with lambda-functions or commuting Hasse derivations) eliminate imaginaries in the geometric language. We then use this classification of interpretable sets to study stably dominated types in those structures. We show that separably closed valued fields of finite imperfection degree are metastable and that the space of stably dominated types is strict pro-definable

The domination monoid in henselian valued fields

We study the domination monoid in various classes of structures arising from the model theory of henselian valuations, including RV-expansions of henselian valued fields of residue characteristic 0 (and, more generally, of benign valued fields), p-adically closed fields, monotone D-henselian differential valued fields with many constants, regular ordered abelian groups, and pure short exact sequences of abelian structures. We obtain Ax-Kochen-Ershov type reductions to suitable fully embedded families of sorts in quite general settings, and full computations in concrete ones.Comment: 35 pages. Minor revisio

Some definable types that cannot be amalgamated

We exhibit a theory where definable types lack the amalgamation property.Comment: 4 page

Beautiful pairs

We introduce an abstract framework to study certain classes of stably embedded pairs of models of a complete $\mathcal{L}$-theory $T$, called beautiful pairs, which comprises Poizat's belles paires of stable structures and van den Dries-Lewenberg's tame pairs of o-minimal structures. Using an amalgamation construction, we relate several properties of beautiful pairs with classical Fra\"{i}ss\'{e} properties. After characterizing beautiful pairs of various theories of ordered abelian groups and valued fields, including the theories of algebraically, $p$-adically and real closed valued fields, we show an Ax-Kochen-Ershov type result for beautiful pairs of henselian valued fields. As an application, we derive strict pro-definability of particular classes of definable types. When $T$ is one of the theories of valued fields mentioned above, the corresponding classes of types are related to classical geometric spaces such as Berkovich and Huber's analytifications. In particular, we recover a result of Hrushovski-Loeser on the strict pro-definability of stably dominated types in algebraically closed valued fields.Comment: 40 page

Some Definability Results in Abstract Kummer Theory

Let $S$ be a semiabelian variety over an algebraically closed field, and let $X$ be an irreducible subvariety not contained in a coset of a proper algebraic subgroup of $S$. We show that the number of irreducible components of $[n]^{-1}(X)$ is bounded uniformly in $n$, and moreover that the bound is uniform in families $X_t$. We prove this by purely Galois-theoretic methods. This proof applies in the more general context of divisible abelian groups of finite Morley rank. In this latter context, we deduce a definability result under the assumption of the Definable Multiplicity Property (DMP). We give sufficient conditions for finite Morley rank groups to have the DMP, and hence give examples where our definability result holds.Comment: 21 pages; minor notational fixe

Influence of patch size and chemistry on the catalytic activity of patchy hybrid nonwovens

In this work, we provide a detailed study on the influence of patch size and chemistry on the catalytic activity of patchy hybrid nonwovens in the gold nanoparticle (Au NP) catalysed alcoholysis of dimethylphenylsilane in n-butanol. The nonwovens were produced by coaxial electrospinning, employing a polystyrene solution as the core and a dispersion of spherical or worm-like patchy micelles with functional, amino group-bearing patches (dimethyl and diisopropyl amino groups as anchor groups for Au NP) as the shell. Subsequent loading by dipping into a dispersion of preformed Au NPs yields the patchy hybrid nonwovens. In terms of NP stabilization, i.e., preventing agglomeration, worm-like micelles with poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylamide) (PDMA) patches are most efficient. Kinetic studies employing an extended 1(st) order kinetics model, which includes the observed induction periods, revealed a strong dependence on the accessibility of the Au NPs' surface to the reactants. The accessibility is controlled by the swellability of the functional patches in n-butanol, which depends on both patch chemistry and size. As a result, significantly longer induction (t(ind)) and reaction (t(R)) times were observed for the 1(st) catalysis cycles in comparison to the 10(th) cycles and nonwovens with more polar PDMA patches show a significantly lower t(R) in the 1(st) catalysis cycle. Thus, the unique patchy surface structure allows tailoring the properties of this "tea-bag"-like catalyst system in terms of NP stabilization and catalytic performance, which resulted in a significant reduction of t(R) to about 4 h for an optimized system