Timeline for Definable subsets of the integers as an abelian subgroup?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
4 events
when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oct 21, 2011 at 12:49 | comment | added | Joel David Hamkins | Yes, I agree. It seems that the parameter-free definable sets in $\langle\mathbb{Z},+\rangle$ are precisely the finite unions of arithmetic progressions that are symmetric about $0$. Once you allow parameters, then you can also define all finite translations of these sets and thus get all finite unions of arithmetic progressions. | |
Oct 21, 2011 at 5:14 | comment | added | user6976 | Yes, I did not notice "-". It does not change the situation very much though. | |
Oct 21, 2011 at 4:00 | comment | added | Joel David Hamkins | This answer is not correct, since the OP's structure has an automorphism taking $x$ to $-x$, and so every parameter-free definable subset must be symmetric with respect to $0$. But not all arithmetic progressions are like this. In the link provided, the version of Presburger arithmetic includes $1$ in the language, which in effect allows parameters into the definitions. | |
Oct 21, 2011 at 2:14 | history | answered | user6976 | CC BY-SA 3.0 |