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We prove that the theory of the $p$-adics ${mathbb Q}_p$ admits elimination of imaginaries provided we add a sort for ${rm GL}_n({mathbb Q}_p)/{rm GL}_n({mathbb Z}_p)$ for each $n$. We also prove that the elimination of imaginaries is uniform in $p$. Using $p$-adic and motivic integration, we deduce the uniform rationality of certain formal zeta functions arising from definable equivalence relations. This also yields analogous results for definable equivalence relations over local fields of positive characteristic. The appendix contains an alternative proof, using cell decomposition, of the rationality (for fixed $p$) of these formal zeta functions that extends to the subanalytic context. As an application, we prove rationality and uniformity results for zeta functions obtained by counting twist isomorphism classes of irreducible representations of finitely generated nilpotent groups; these are analogous to similar results of Grunewald, Segal and Smith and of du Sautoy and Grunewald for subgroup zeta functions of finitely generated nilpotent groups.
In this paper we completely characterize solvable real Lie groups definable in o-minimal expansions of the real field.
We prove several theorems relating amenability of groups in various categories (discrete, definable, topological, automorphism group) to model-theoretic invariants (quotients by connected components, Lascar Galois group, G-compactness, ...). For example, if $M$ is a countable, $omega$-categorical structure and $Aut(M)$ is amenable, as a topological group, then the Lascar Galois group $Gal_{L}(T)$ of the theory $T$ of $M$ is compact, Hausdorff (also over any finite set of parameters), that is $T$ is G-compact. An essentially special case is that if $Aut(M)$ is extremely amenable, then $Gal_{L}(T)$ is trivial, so, by a theorem of Lascar, the theory $T$ can be recovered from its category $Mod(T)$ of models. On the side of definable groups, we prove for example that if $G$ is definable in a model $M$, and $G$ is definably amenable, then the connected components ${G^{*}}^{00}_{M}$ and ${G^{*}}^{000}_{M}$ coincide, answering positively a question from an earlier paper of the authors. We also take the opportunity to further develop the model-theoretic approach to topological dynamics, obtaining for example some new invariants for topological groups, as well as allowing a uniform approach to the theorems above and the various categories.
For certain theories of existentially closed topological differential fields, we show that there is a strong relationship between $mathcal Lcup{D}$-definable sets and their $mathcal L$-reducts, where $mathcal L$ is a relational expansion of the field language and $D$ a symbol for a derivation. This enables us to associate with an $mathcal Lcup{D}$-definable group in models of such theories, a local $mathcal L$-definable group. As a byproduct, we show that in closed ordered differential fields, one has the descending chain condition on centralisers.
We study strong types and Galois groups in model theory from a topological and descriptive-set-theoretical point of view, leaning heavily on topological dynamical tools. More precisely, we give an abstract (not model theoretic) treatment of problems related to cardinality and Borel cardinality of strong types, quotients of definable groups and related objecets, generalising (and often improving) essentially all hitherto known results in this area. In particular, we show that under reasonable assumptions, strong type spaces are locally quotients of compact Polish groups. It follows that they are smooth if and only if they are type-definable, and that a quotient of a type-definable group by an analytic subgroup is either finite or of cardinality at least continuum.
The present survey aims at being a list of Conjectures and Problems in an area of model-theoretic algebra wide open for research, not a list of known results. To keep the text compact, it focuses on structures of finite Morley rank, although the same questions can be asked about other classes of objects, for example, groups definable in $omega$-stable and $o$-minimal theories. In many cases, answers are not known even in the classical category of algebraic groups over algebraically closed fields.