Unstable structures definable in o-minimal theories (Q974656): Difference between revisions

This paper is concerned with the general question of understanding the model theory of structures interpretable in o-minimal theories. The idea is that such theories are NIP and superrosy of finite U-thorn rank and one can also take advantage of the o-minimal geometry of the ambient o-minimal theory. This paper studies the model theory of \textit{unstable} structures interpretable in o-minimal structures, with the aim of establishing Zilber-type trichotomy theorems. (The authors claim that the case of stable structures interpretable in o-minimal structures is seemingly more difficult and essentially wide open.) The main result of the paper is the following: Suppose that \(M\) is an \(\omega\)-saturated (dense) o-minimal structure and \(N\) is a structure interpretable in \(M\). Suppose that \(p\in S(N)\) is an unstable type. Then there is a type \(q\in S(N)\) which is o-minimal and is an almost extension of \(p\). (Here a type in an arbitrary theory is stable if any of its extensions to an algebraically closed parameter set is definable.) A few definitions are given in order to understand this theorem. A definable set \(X\subseteq N^k\) is o-minimal if there is a definable linear order \(<\) on \(X\) such that \((X,<)\), with the induced structure from \(N\), is o-minimal. A type over \(N\) is definable if it contains an o-minimal definable set. When we say that \(q\) is an almost extension of \(p\), we mean that there is an extension \(q_0\) of \(p\) and a definable relation \(R\) such that if \((a,b)\in R\) then \(a\models q_0\) and \(b\models q\) and such that the fiber \(R(a)\) is finite for all \(a\). An immediate consequence of this theorem is that if \(N\) is a structure interpretable in an \(\omega\)-saturated o-minimal structure, then \(N\) is unstable if and only if \(N\) interprets an o-minimal structure. Suppose, in addition, that the unstable type \(p\in S(N)\) is \textit{thorn-minimal}, that is, has U-thorn rank \(1\). Then one can show that the pregeometry of \(p\) is the same as the pregeometry of its o-minimal almost extension \(q\). Consequently, one can use the Peterzil-Starchenko trichotomy theorem for o-minimal structures to get a trichotomy theorem for the pregeometry of \(p\). The authors mention that obtaining a global trichotomy theorem for \(N\) is more difficult due to the fact that complexity of the geometry of \(N\) may be hidden in stable parts of the structure, which at the moment are untractable. They do however provide a global theorem for \(N\) under the additional assumption that \(T:= \text{Th}(N)\) is \textit{unidimensional}, which essentially means that there is only one type (up to non-orthogonality), stating that \(T\) is either trivial, interprets a group with a Mordell-Lang-type property, has finite Morley rank and is not 1-based, or else interprets a real closed field.