arXiv subjects

Mark Kamsma

Publications and source records attributed to Mark Kamsma.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Cellular generation revisited

Cellular generation, which generalises cofibrant generation, is an important categorical smallness condition on a class of morphisms. A general challenge is to determine whether a given class of morphisms $\mathcal{M}$ is cellularly generated, in which $\mathcal{M}$-effective squares are often useful. These are commuting squares consisting of morphisms in $\mathcal{M}$, so that the induced morphism from the pushout square is also in $\mathcal{M}$. When we drop the requirement that the vertical morphisms in the square are in $\mathcal{M}$ we obtain the weaker notion of $\mathcal{M}$-quasieffective square. We prove that, in a locally presentable category, $\mathcal{M}$ is cellularly generated if and only if $\mathcal{M}$ is almost everywhere quasieffective. The latter is a set-theoretic condition stating that for almost every partial elementary set-theoretic subuniverse $\mathfrak{N}$, we have that restricting any morphism in $\mathcal{M}$ to $\mathfrak{N}$ yields an $\mathcal{M}$-quasieffective square. For locally finitely presentable categories this yields an additional categorical characterisation in terms of filtrations of $\mathcal{M}$-quasieffective squares. If we additionally assume that $\mathcal{M}$ is continuous (i.e., the corresponding wide subcategory is closed under directed colimits) then we obtain a stronger characterisation of cellular generation in terms of accessibility of the category of $\mathcal{M}$-effective squares. This improves on a theorem by Lieberman, Vasey, and the third author.

math.CT↗

arXiv2025

Positive Logic: An Introduction for Model Theorists

Positive logic is a generalisation of full first-order logic that does not have negation built in. Still, many model-theoretic ideas, tools and techniques work perfectly fine in positive logic. Importantly, there is a compactness theorem. With some care, many classical results hold in the generality of positive logic without giving up any strength. In these self-contained notes we give an introduction to model theory in positive logic. We give a complete treatment of the basics of positive model theory and then we move on to deeper model-theoretic concepts. First, we discuss countable categoricity, where we work towards a theorem that characterises countably categorical positive theories. After that, we briefly discuss how the convenient formalism of monster models goes through in positive logic as usual. This is helpful in the remainder of the notes, where we discuss simple and stable theories. The main aim in those chapters is to develop dividing independence and prove Kim-Pillay style theorems. For a smoother treatment we assume thickness, which is the relatively mild assumption that being an indiscernible sequence is type-definable. We finish by discussing two big applications of positive logic: hyperimaginaries and continuous logic. For the former we define an $(-)^{\text{heq}}$ construction, analogous to the $(-)^{\text{eq}}$ construction for imaginaries in full first-order logic. Where the $(-)^{\text{heq}}$ construction is problematic in full first-order logic, it does stay within the framework in positive logic and it preserves many nice properties. For the latter we explain how continuous logic can be studied as a special case of positive logic, making it so that all abstract model-theoretic results in positive logic apply to continuous theories. In the appendix we provide a quick guide to the material covered in these notes, including very brief proof sketches.

math.LO↗

arXiv2025

Cofibrant generation of pure monomorphisms in presheaf categories

We characterise when the pure monomorphisms in a presheaf category $\mathbf{Set}^\mathcal{C}$ are cofibrantly generated in terms of the category $\mathcal{C}$. In particular, when $\mathcal{C}$ is a monoid $S$ this characterises cofibrant generation of pure monomorphisms between sets with an $S$-action in terms of $S$: this happens if and only if for all $a, b \in S$ there is $c \in S$ such that $a = cb$ or $ca = b$. We give a model-theoretic proof: we prove that our characterisation is equivalent to having a stable independence relation, which in turn is equivalent to cofibrant generation. As a corollary, we show that pure monomorphisms in acts over the multiplicative monoid of natural numbers are not cofibrantly generated.

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arXiv2024

Lifting independence along functors

Given a functor $F: \mathcal{C} \to \mathcal{D}$ and a model-theoretic independence relation on $\mathcal{D}$, we can lift that independence relation along $F$ to $\mathcal{C}$ by declaring a commuting square in $\mathcal{C}$ to be independent if its image under $F$ is independent. For each property that an independence relation can have we give assumptions on the functor that guarantee the property to be lifted.

math.CT↗

arXiv2024

Existentially closed models and locally zero-dimensional toposes

The notion of an existentially closed model is generalised to a property of geometric morphisms between toposes. We show that important properties of existentially closed models extend to existentially closed geometric morphisms, such as the fact that every model admits a homomorphism to an existentially closed one. Other properties do not generalise: classically, there are two equivalent definitions of an existentially closed model, but this equivalence breaks down for the generalised notion. We study the interaction of these two conditions on the topos-theoretic level, and characterise the classifying topos of the e.c. geometric morphisms when the conditions coincide.

math.CT↗

arXiv2024

Corrigendum to "Kim-independence in positive logic"

The proof of the Independence Theorem for Kim-independence in positive thick NSOP$_1$ theories from (Dobrowolski and Kamsma, 2022) contains a gap. The theorem is still true, and in this corrigendum we give a different proof.

math.LO↗

arXiv2023

Classifying toposes for non-geometric theories

The classifying topos of a geometric theory is a topos such that geometric morphisms into it correspond to models of that theory. We study classifying toposes for different infinitary logics: first-order, sub-first-order (i.e. geometric logic plus implication) and classical. For the first two, the corresponding notion of classifying topos is given by restricting the use of geometric morphisms to open and sub-open geometric morphisms respectively. For the last one, we restrict ourselves to Boolean toposes instead. Butz and Johnstone proved that the first-order classifying topos of an infinitary first-order theory exists precisely when that theory does not have too many infinitary first-order formulas, up to intuitionistically provable equivalence. We prove similar statements for the sub-first-order and Boolean case. Along the way we obtain completeness results of infinitary sub-first-order logic and infinitary classical logic with respect to (Boolean) toposes.

math.CT↗

arXiv2023

Unstable independence from the categorical point of view

We give a category-theoretic construction of simple and NSOP$_1$-like independence relations in locally finitely presentable categories, and in the more general locally finitely multipresentable categories. We do so by identifying properties of a class of monomorphisms $\mathcal{M}$ such that the pullback squares consisting of morphisms in $\mathcal{M}$ form the desired independence relation. This generalizes the category-theoretic construction of stable independence relations using effective unions or cellular squares by M. Lieberman, S. Vasey and the second author to the unstable setting.

math.CT↗

arXiv2023

Positive indiscernibles

We generalise various theorems for finding indiscernible trees and arrays to positive logic: based on an existing modelling theorem for s-trees, we prove modelling theorems for str-trees, str$_0$-trees (the reduct of str-trees that forgets the length comparison relation) and arrays. In doing so, we prove stronger versions for basing -- rather than locally basing or EM-basing -- str-trees on s-trees and str$_0$-trees on str-trees. As an application we show that a thick positive theory has $k$-TP$_2$ iff it has $2$-TP$_2$.

math.LO↗

arXiv2023

Dividing Lines between Positive Theories

We give definitions of the properties OP, IP, $k$-TP, TP$_1$, $k$-TP$_2$, SOP$_1$, SOP$_2$ and SOP$_3$ in positive logic, and prove various implications and equivalences between them. We also provide a characterisation of stability in positive logic in analogy with the one in full first-order logic, both on the level of formulas and on the level of theories. For simple theories there are the classically equivalent definitions of not having TP and dividing having local character, which we prove to be equivalent in positive logic as well. Finally, we show that a thick theory $T$ has OP iff it has IP or SOP$_1$ and that $T$ has TP iff it has SOP$_1$ or TP$_2$, analogous to the well-known results in full first-order logic where SOP$_1$ is replaced by SOP in the former and by TP$_1$ in the latter. Our proofs of these final two theorems are new and make use of Kim-independence.

math.LO↗

arXiv2022

Independence relations for exponential fields

We give four different independence relations on any exponential field. Each is a canonical independence relation on a suitable Abstract Elementary Class of exponential fields, showing that two of these are NSOP$_1$-like and non-simple, a third is stable, and the fourth is the quasiminimal pregeometry of Zilber's exponential fields, previously known to be stable (and uncountably categorical). We also characterise the fourth independence relation in terms of the third, strong independence.

math.LO↗

arXiv2022

Bilinear spaces over a fixed field are simple unstable

We study the model theory of vector spaces with a bilinear form over a fixed field. For finite fields this can be, and has been, done in the classical framework of full first-order logic. For infinite fields we need different logical frameworks. First we take a category-theoretic approach, which requires very little set-up. We show that linear independence forms a simple unstable independence relation. With some more work we then show that we can also work in the framework of positive logic, which is much more powerful than the category-theoretic approach and much closer to the classical framework of full first-order logic. We fully characterise the existentially closed models of the arising positive theory. Using the independence relation from before we conclude that the theory is simple unstable, in the sense that dividing has local character but there are many distinct types. We also provide positive version of what is commonly known as the Ryll-Nardzewski theorem for $\omega$-categorical theories in full first-order logic, from which we conclude that bilinear spaces over a countable field are $\omega$-categorical.

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arXiv2021

NSOP$_1$-like independence in AECats

The classes stable, simple and NSOP$_1$ in the stability hierarchy for first-order theories can be characterised by the existence of a certain independence relation. For each of them there is a canonicity theorem: there can be at most one nice independence relation. Independence in stable and simple first-order theories must come from forking and dividing (which then coincide), and for NSOP$_1$ theories it must come from Kim-dividing. We generalise this work to the framework of AECats (Abstract Elementary Categories) with the amalgamation property. These are a certain kind of accessible category generalising the category of (subsets of) models of some theory. We prove canonicity theorems for stable, simple and NSOP$_1$-like independence relations. The stable and simple cases have been done before in slightly different setups, but we provide them here as well so that we can recover part of the original stability hierarchy. We also provide abstract definitions for each of these independence relations as what we call isi-dividing, isi-forking and long Kim-dividing.

math.LO↗

arXiv2021

Kim-independence in positive logic

An important dividing line in the class of unstable theories is being NSOP$_1$, which is more general than being simple. In NSOP$_1$ theories forking independence may not be as well-behaved as in stable or simple theories, so it is replaced by another independence notion, called Kim-independence. We generalise Kim-independence over models in NSOP$_1$ theories to positive logic -- a proper generalisation of first-order logic where negation is not built in, but can be added as desired. For example, an important application is that we can add hyperimaginary sorts to a positive theory to get another positive theory, preserving NSOP$_1$ and various other properties. We prove that, in a thick positive NSOP$_1$ theory, Kim-independence over existentially closed models has all the nice properties that it is known to have in a first-order NSOP$_1$ theory. We also provide a Kim-Pillay style theorem, characterising which thick positive theories are NSOP$_1$ by the existence of a certain independence relation. Furthermore, this independence relation must then be the same as Kim-independence. Thickness is the mild assumption that being an indiscernible sequence is type-definable. In first-order logic Kim-independence is defined in terms of Morley sequences in global invariant types. These may not exist in thick positive theories. We solve this by working with Morley sequences in global Lascar-invariant types, which do exist in thick positive theories. We also simplify certain tree constructions that were used in the study of Kim-independence in first-order theories. In particular, we only work with trees of finite height.

math.LO↗

arXiv2020

Type space functors and interpretations in positive logic

We construct a 2-equivalence $\mathfrak{CohTheory}^\text{op} \simeq \mathfrak{TypeSpaceFunc}$. Here $\mathfrak{CohTheory}$ is the 2-category of positive theories and $\mathfrak{TypeSpaceFunc}$ is the 2-category of type space functors. We give a precise definition of interpretations for positive logic, which will be the 1-cells in $\mathfrak{CohTheory}$. The 2-cells are definable homomorphisms. The 2-equivalence restricts to a duality of categories, making precise the philosophy that a theory is `the same' as the collection of its type spaces (i.e. its type space functor). In characterising those functors that arise as type space functors, we find that they are specific instances of (coherent) hyperdoctrines. This connects two different schools of thought on the logical structure of a theory. The key ingredient, the Deligne completeness theorem, arises from topos theory, where positive theories have been studied under the name of coherent theories.

math.LO↗

arXiv2020

The Kim-Pillay theorem for Abstract Elementary Categories

We introduce the framework of AECats (abstract elementary categories), generalising both the category of models of some first-order theory and the category of subsets of models. Any AEC and any compact abstract theory ("cat", as introduced by Ben-Yaacov) forms an AECat. In particular, we find applications in positive logic and continuous logic: the category of (subsets of) models of a positive or continuous theory is an AECat. The Kim-Pillay theorem for first-order logic characterises simple theories by the properties dividing independence has. We prove a version of the Kim-Pillay theorem for AECats with the amalgamation property, generalising the first-order version and existing versions for positive logic.

math.LO↗