An approximate logic for measures (Q2017144)

The deep connections between results in combinatorics and results in ergodic theory initiated by \textit{H. Furstenberg}'s ergodic proof of Szemerédi's theorem [J. Anal. Math. 31, 204--256 (1977; Zbl 0347.28016)] has touched many different parts of mathematics. Here a logical framework, AML (approximate measure logic), is presented that allows for many different developments of this connection to be treated in a coherent and accessible way. The basic properties of AML are developed, and the original Furstenberg correspondence is expressed. Short proofs of the Szemerédi regularity lemma and the hypergraph removal lemma are given, and connections between Gowers' uniformity norms and the notion of stability in model theory are developed. The paper introduces some of the model-theoretic concepts by starting with a short discussion of Szemerédi's theorem from this point of view, and should facilitate both a re-organization of some scattered results and the ongoing conversation between model theory, ergodic theory, and combinatorics.