Definable combinatorics with dense linear orders

Abstract

We compute the model-theoretic Grothendieck ring, $K_0(\mathcal{Q})$, of a dense linear order (DLO) with or without end points, $\mathcal{Q}=(Q,<)$, as a structure of the signature $\{<\}$, and show that it is a quotient of the polynomial ring over $\mathbb{Z}$ generated by $\mathbb N_+\times(Q\sqcup\{-\infty\})$ by an ideal that encodes multiplicative relations of pairs of generators. As a corollary we obtain that a DLO satisfies the pigeon hole principle (PHP) for definable subsets and definable bijections between them--a property that is too strong for many structures.