Definable choice for a class of weakly o-minimal theories (Q506966)

Let \(\mathcal{M}\) be an o-minimal group, and \(U\) be an additional unary, downward-closed relation, defining a non-rational cut in \(M\). Then \(\mathrm{Th}(\mathcal{M},U)\) is only weakly o-minimal and may be of valuational or non-valuational kind. The main result: the cut is valuational if and only if \(\mathrm{Th}(\mathcal{M},U)\) has definable Skolem functions; in both cases a stronger property, called \textit{definable choice} (the choice functions are injective with respect to fibres of definable sets), fails to happen for \(\mathrm{Th}(\mathcal{M},U)\). In the valuational case, the proof is borrowed from studying the valuational expansions of o-minimal fields (the real-closed valued fields, for example), and in the non-valuational case the analysis of dense pairs of o-minimal structures is used. The paper refers to the Ph.D. thesis of the second author [Weakly o-minimal structures and Skolem functions. Maryland, MD: University of Maryland (PhD Thesis) (2008)] giving an explicit algorithm for calculating Skolem functions for some class of models \((\mathcal{M},U)\).