We prove the dp-finite case of the Shelah conjecture on NIP fields. If K is a dp-finite field, then K admits a non-trivial definable henselian valuation ring, unless K is finite, real closed, or algebraically closed. As a consequence, the conjectural classification of dp-finite fields holds. Additionally, dp-finite valued fields are henselian. Lastly, if K is an unstable dp-finite expansion of a field, then K admits a unique definable V-topology.
Let K be an Abstract Elemenetary Class satisfying the amalgamation and the joint embedding property, let μbe the Hanf number of K. Suppose K is tame. MAIN COROLLARY: (ZFC) If K is categorical in a successor cardinal bigger than \beth_{(2^μ)^+} then K is categorical in all cardinals greater than \beth_{(2^μ)^+}. This is an improvment of a Theorem of Makkai and Shelah ([Sh285] who used a strongly compact cardinal for the same conclusion) and Shelah's downward categoricity theorem for AECs with amalgamation (from [Sh394]).
Shelah considered a certain version of Strong Chang's Conjecture, which we denote $\text{SCC}^{\text{cof}}$, and proved that it is equivalent to several statements, including the assertion that Namba forcing is semiproper. We introduce an apparently weaker version, denoted $\text{SCC}^{\text{split}}$, and prove an analogous characterization of it. In particular, $\text{SCC}^{\text{split}}$ is equivalent to the assertion that the the Friedman-Krueger poset is semiproper. This strengthens and sharpens the results of Cox, and sheds some light on problems from Usuba and Torres-Perez and Wu.
A new case of Shelah's eventual categoricity conjecture is established: $\mathbf{Theorem}$ Let $K$ be an AEC with amalgamation. Write $H_2 := \beth_{\left(2^{\beth_{\left(2^{\text{LS} (K)}\right)^+}}\right)^+}$. Assume that $K$ is $H_2$-tame and $K_{\ge H_2}$ has primes over sets of the form $M \cup \{a\}$. If $K$ is categorical in some $λ> H_2$, then $K$ is categorical in all $λ' \ge H_2$. The result had previously been established when the stronger locality assumptions of full tameness and shortness are also required. An application of the method of proof of the theorem is that Shelah's cate…
We give a $p$-adic example of a structure whose Shelah completion interprets $\mathbb{Q}_p$ but which does not (provided an extremely plausible conjecture holds) interpret an infinite field. In the final section we discuss the significance of such examples for a possible future geometric theory of $\mathrm{NIP}$ structures.
We prove: $\mathbf{Theorem}$ Let $K$ be a universal class. If $K$ is categorical in cardinals of arbitrarily high cofinality, then $K$ is categorical on a tail of cardinals. The proof stems from ideas of Adi Jarden and Will Boney, and also relies on a deep result of Shelah. As opposed to previous works, the argument is in ZFC and does not use the assumption of categoricity in a successor cardinal. The argument generalizes to abstract elementary classes (AECs) that satisfy a locality property and where certain prime models exist. Moreover assuming amalgamation we can give an explicit bound on t…
We prove that a universal class categorical in a high-enough cardinal is categorical on a tail of cardinals. As opposed to other results in the literature, we work in ZFC, do not require the categoricity cardinal to be a successor, do not assume amalgamation, and do not use large cardinals. Moreover we give an explicit bound on the "high-enough" threshold: $\mathbf{Theorem}$ Let $ψ$ be a universal $\mathbb{L}_{ω_1, ω}$ sentence. If $ψ$ is categorical in some $λ\ge \beth_{\beth_{ω_1}}$, then $ψ$ is categorical in all $λ' \ge \beth_{\beth_{ω_1}}$. As a byproduct of the proof, we show that a conj…
We provide a short proof of Shelah's eventual categoricity conjecture, assuming the Generalized Continuum Hypothesis ($GCH$), for abstract elementary classes (AEC's) with interpolation, a strengthening of amalgamation which is a necessary and sufficient condition for an AEC categorical in a high enough cardinal to satisfy eventual categoricity. The proof builds on an earlier topos-theoretic argument which was syntactic in nature and recurred to $κ$-classifying toposes. We carry out here the same proof idea but from the semantic perspective, making use of a connection between $κ$-classifying to…
This paper generalizes Shelah's generic pair conjecture (now theorem) for the measurable cardinal case from first order theories to finite diagrams. We use homogeneous models in the place of saturated models.
We provide a proof, in $ZFC$, of Shelah's eventual categoricity conjecture for abstract elementary classes (AEC's). Moreover, assuming in addition the Singular Cardinal Hypothesis ($SCH$), we prove a direct generalization to the more general context of accessible categories with directed colimits. If $\mathcal{K}$ is such a category, we show that there is a cardinal $μ$ such that if $\mathcal{K}$ is $λ$-categorical for some $λ\geq μ$ (i.e., it has only one object of internal size $λ$ up to isomorphism), then $\mathcal{K}$ is eventually categorical (i.e., it is $λ'$-categorical for every $λ' \g…
We prove: Main Theorem: Let $\mathcal{K}$ be an abstract elementary class satisfying the joint embedding and the amalgamation properties with no maximal models of cardinality $μ$. Let $μ$ be a cardinal above the the Löwenheim-Skolem number of the class. If $\mathcal{K}$ is $μ$-Galois-stable, has no $μ$-Vaughtian Pairs, does not have long splitting chains, and satisfies locality of splitting, then any two $(μ,σ_\ell)$-limits over $M$, for $\ell\in\{1,2\}$, are isomorphic over $M$. This theorem extends results of Shelah from \cite{Sh394}, \cite{Sh576}, \cite{Sh600}, Kolman and Shelah in \cite{Ko…
We initiate the study of definable V-topolgies and show that there is at most one such V-topology on a t-henselian NIP field. Equivalently, we show that if $(K,v_1,v_2)$ is a bi-valued NIP field with $v_1$ henselian (resp. t-henselian) then $v_1$ and $v_2$ are comparable (resp. dependent). As a consequence Shelah's conjecture for NIP fields implies the henselianity conjecture for NIP fields. Furthermore, the latter conjecture is proved for any field admitting a henselian valuation with a dp-minimal residue field. We conclude by showing that Shelah's conjecture is equivalent to the statement th…
Wedderburn showed in 1905 that finite fields are commutative. As for infinite fields, we know that superstable (Cherlin, Shelah) and supersimple (Pillay, Scanlon, Wagner) ones are commutative. In their proof, Cherlin and Shelah use the fact that a superstable field is algebraically closed. Wagner showed that a small field is algebraically closed, and asked whether a small field should be commutative. We shall answer this question positively in non-zero characteristic.
We survey the history of Shelah's conjecture on strongly dependent fields, give an equivalent formulation in terms of a classification of strongly dependent fields and prove that the conjecture implies that every strongly dependent field has finite dp-rank.
We show that Shelah's Eventual Categoricity Conjecture follows from the existence of class many strongly compact cardinals. This is the first time the consistency of this conjecture has been proven. We do so by showing that every AEC with $LS(K)$ below a strongly compact cardinal $κ$ is $< κ$ tame and applying the categoricity transfer of Grossberg and VanDieren. These techniques also apply to measurable and weakly compact cardinals and we prove similar tameness results under those hypotheses. We isolate a dual property to tameness, called \emph{type shortness}, and show that it follows simila…
For every infinite cardinal $κ$ with $κ^+=2^κ$ we construct a group $G$ of cardinality $|G|=κ^+$ such that (i) $G$ is $36$-Shelah, which means that $A^{36}=G$ for any subset $A\subseteq G$ of cardinality $|A|=|G|$; (ii) $G$ is absolutely $\mathsf{T_{\!1}S}$-closed and projectively $\mathsf{T_{\!1}S}$-discrete, which means that for every homomorphism $h:G\to Y$ to a $T_1$ topological semigroup $Y$ the image $h[G]$ is a closed discrete subspace of $Y$, (iii) $G$ cannot be covered by finitely many algebraic subsets, i.e., subsets of the form $\{x\in G:xc_1xc_2\cdots xc_n=e\}$ for some $c_1,c_2,\c…
The following conjecture is due to Shelah-Hasson: Any infinite strongly NIP field is either real closed, algebraically closed, or admits a non-trivial definable henselian valuation, in the language of rings. We specialise this conjecture to ordered fields in the language of ordered rings, which leads towards a systematic study of the class of strongly NIP almost real closed fields. As a result, we obtain a complete characterisation of this class.
In this paper, we undertake a systematic model and valuation theoretic study of the class of ordered fields which are dense in their real closure. We apply this study to determine definable henselian valuations on ordered fields, in the language of ordered rings. In light of our results, we re-examine the Shelah-Hasson Conjecture (specialised to ordered fields) and provide an example limiting its valuation theoretic conclusions.
We prove that unstable dp-finite fields admit definable V-topologies. As a consequence, the henselianity conjecture for dp-finite fields implies the Shelah conjecture for dp-finite fields. This gives a conceptually simpler proof of the classification of dp-finite fields of positive characteristic. For $n \ge 1$, we define a local class of "$W_n$-topological fields", generalizing V-topological fields. A $W_1$-topology is the same thing as a V-topology, and a $W_n$-topology is some higher-rank analogue. If $K$ is an unstable dp-finite field, then the canonical topology is a definable $W_n$-topol…
We continue the study of $n$-dependent groups, fields and related structures, largely motivated by the conjecture that every $n$-dependent field is dependent. We provide evidence towards this conjecture by showing that every infinite $n$-dependent valued field of positive characteristic is henselian, obtaining a variant of Shelah's Henselianity Conjecture in this case and generalizing a recent result of Johnson for dependent fields. Additionally, we prove a result on intersections of type-definable connected components over generic sets of parameters in $n$-dependent groups, generalizing Shela…
We prove that many properties and invariants of definable groups in NIP theories, such as definable amenability, G/G^{00}, etc., are preserved when passing to the theory of the Shelah expansion by externally definable sets, M^{ext}, of a model M. In the light of these results we continue the study of the "definable topological dynamics" of groups in NIP theories. In particular we prove the Ellis group conjecture relating the Ellis group to G/G^{00} in some new cases, including definably amenable groups in o-minimal structures.
The arithmetic regularity lemma for $\mathbb{F}_p^n$, proved by Green in 2005, states that given a subset $A\subseteq \mathbb{F}_p^n$, there exists a subspace $H\leq \mathbb{F}_p^n$ of bounded codimension such that $A$ is Fourier-uniform with respect to almost all cosets of $H$. It is known that in general, the growth of the codimension of $H$ is required to be of tower type depending on the degree of uniformity, and that one must allow for a small number of non-uniform cosets. Our main result is that, under a natural model-theoretic assumption of stability, the tower-type bound and non-unifor…
A permutation group is {\it binary} if its orbits on $k$-tuples, for any integer $k\geq 2$, can be deduced from its orbits on $2$-tuples. Cherlin conjectured that a finite primitive binary permutation group $G$ must lie in one of three known families. In this paper we complete the proof of this conjecture. To do this we study the case where the group $G$ is almost simple of Lie type.
