On the Classification Problem for Rank 2 Torsion-Free Abelian Groups

We study here some foundational aspects of the classification problem for torsion-free abelian groups of finite rank. These are, up to isomorphism, the subgroups of the additive groups (Q^n, +), for some n = 1, 2, 3,.... The torsion-free abelian groups of rank ≤ n are the subgroups of (Q^n, +)

Countable ordinals and the analytical hierarchy, I

The following results are proved, using the axiom of Projective Determinacy: (i) For n ≥ 1, every II(1/2n+1) set of countable ordinals contains a Δ(1/2n+1) ordinal, (ii) For n ≥ 1, the set of reals Δ(1/2n) in an ordinal is equal to the largest countable Σ(1/2n) set and (iii) Every real is Δ(1/n) inside some transitive model of set theory if and only if n ≥ 4

Turbulence, amalgamation and generic automorphisms of homogeneous structures

We study topological properties of conjugacy classes in Polish groups, with emphasis on automorphism groups of homogeneous countable structures. We first consider the existence of dense conjugacy classes (the topological Rokhlin property). We then characterize when an automorphism group admits a comeager conjugacy class (answering a question of Truss) and apply this to show that the homeomorphism group of the Cantor space has a comeager conjugacy class (answering a question of Akin-Hurley-Kennedy). Finally, we study Polish groups that admit comeager conjugacy classes in any dimension (in which case the groups are said to admit ample generics). We show that Polish groups with ample generics have the small index property (generalizing results of Hodges-Hodkinson-Lascar-Shelah) and arbitrary homomorphisms from such groups into separable groups are automatically continuous. Moreover, in the case of oligomorphic permutation groups, they have uncountable cofinality and the Bergman property. These results in particular apply to automorphism groups of many $\omega$-stable, $\aleph_0$-categorical structures and of the random graph. In this connection, we also show that the infinite symmetric group $S_\infty$ has a unique non-trivial separable group topology. For several interesting groups we also establish Serre's properties (FH) and (FA)

A strong generic ergodicity property of unitary and self-adjoint operators

Consider the conjugacy action of the unitary group of an infinite-dimensional separable Hilbert space on the unitary operators. A strong generic ergodicity property of this action is established, by showing that any conjugacy invariants assigned in a definable way to unitary operators, and taking as values countable structures up to isomorphism, generically trivialize. Similar results are proved for conjugacy of self-adjoint operators and for measure equivalence. The proofs make use of the theory of turbulence for continuous actions of Polish groups, developed by Hjorth. These methods are also used to give a new solution to a problem of Mauldin in measure theory, by showing that any analytic set of pairwise orthogonal measures on the Cantor space is orthogonal to a product measure

Fraisse Limits, Ramsey Theory, and Topological Dynamics of Automorphism Groups

We study in this paper some connections between the Fraisse theory of amalgamation classes and ultrahomogeneous structures, Ramsey theory, and topological dynamics of automorphism groups of countable structures.Comment: 73 pages, LaTeX 2e, to appear in Geom. Funct. Ana

Algorithmic Randomness for Infinite Time Register Machines

A concept of randomness for infinite time register machines (ITRMs), resembling Martin-L\"of-randomness, is defined and studied. In particular, we show that for this notion of randomness, computability from mutually random reals implies computability and that an analogue of van Lambalgen's theorem holds

On effective sigma-boundedness and sigma-compactness

We prove several theorems on sigma-bounded and sigma-compact pointsets. We start with a known theorem by Kechris, saying that any lightface \Sigma^1_1 set of the Baire space either is effectively sigma-bounded (that is, covered by a countable union of compact lightface \Delta^1_1 sets), or contains a superperfect subset (and then the set is not sigma-bounded, of course). We add different generalizations of this result, in particular, 1) such that the boundedness property involved includes covering by compact sets and equivalence classes of a given finite collection of lightface \Delta^1_1 equivalence relations, 2) generalizations to lightface \Sigma^1_2 sets, 3) generalizations true in the Solovay model. As for effective sigma-compactness, we start with a theorem by Louveau, saying that any lightface \Delta^1_1 set of the Baire space either is effectively sigma-compact (that is, is equal to a countable union of compact lightface \Delta^1_1 sets), or it contains a relatively closed superperfect subset. Then we prove a generalization of this result to lightface \Sigma^1_1 sets.Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1103.106

On a notion of smallness for subsets of the Baire space

Let us call a set A ⊆ ω^ω of functions from ω into ω σ-bounded if there is a countable sequence of functions (α_n: n Є ω)⊆ ω^ω such that every member of A is pointwise dominated by an element of that sequence. We study in this paper definability questions concerning this notion of smallness for subsets of ω^ω. We show that most of the usual definability results about the structure of countable subsets of ω^ω have corresponding versions which hold about σ-bounded subsets of ω^ω. For example, we show that every Σ_(2n+1^1 σ-bounded subset of ω^ω has a Δ_(2n+1)^1 "bound" {α_m: m Є ω} and also that for any n ≥ 0 there are largest σ-bounded Π_(2n+1)^1 and Σ_(2n+2)^1 sets. We need here the axiom of projective determinacy if n ≥ 1. In order to study the notion of σ-boundedness a simple game is devised which plays here a role similar to that of the standard ^*-games (see [My]) in the theory of countable sets. In the last part of the paper a class of games is defined which generalizes the ^*- and ^(**)-(or Banach-Mazur) games (see [My]) as well as the game mentioned above. Each of these games defines naturally a notion of smallness for subsets of ω^ω whose special cases include countability, being of the first category and σ-boundedness and for which one can generalize all the main results of the present paper

Determinacy with Complicated Strategies

For any class of functions F from R into R, AD(F) is the assertion that in every two person game on integers one of the two players has a winning strategy in the class F. It is shown, in ZF + DC + V = L(R), that for any F of cardinality < 2^(N0)(i.e. any F which is a surjective image of R) AD(F) implies AD (the Axiom of Determinacy)