Scott analysis, linear orders and almost periodic functions

Abstract

For any limit ordinal $\lambda$, we construct a linear order $L_\lambda$ whose Scott complexity is $\Sigma_{\lambda+1}$. This completes the classification of the possible Scott sentence complexities of linear orderings. Previously, there was only one known construction of any structure (of any signature) with Scott complexity $\Sigma_{\lambda+1}$, and our construction gives new examples, e.g., rigid structures, of this complexity. Moreover, we can construct the linear orders $L_\lambda$ so that not only does $L_\lambda$ have Scott complexity $\Sigma_{\lambda+1}$, but there are continuum-many structures $M \equiv_\lambda L_\lambda$ and all such structures also have Scott complexity $\Sigma_{\lambda+1}$. In contrast, we demonstrate that there is no structure (of any signature) with Scott complexity $\Pi_{\lambda+1}$ that is only $\lambda$-equivalent to structures with Scott complexity $\Pi_{\lambda+1}$. Our construction is based on functions $f \colon \mathbb{Z}\to \mathbb{N}\cup \{\infty\}$ which are almost periodic but not periodic, such as those arising from shifts of the $p$-adic valuations.