Extensions of infinite partition regular systems (Q2346468)

Summary: A finite or infinite matrix \(A\) with rational entries (and only finitely many non zero entries in each row) is called \textit{image partition regular} if, whenever the natural numbers are finitely coloured, there is a vector \(x\), with entries in the natural numbers, such that \(Ax\) is monochromatic. Many of the classicial results of Ramsey theory are naturally stated in terms of image partition regularity.{ }Our aim in this paper is to investigate maximality questions for image partition regular matrices. ~When is it possible to add rows on to \(A\) and remain image partition regular? When can one add rows but `nothing new is produced'? What about adding~rows and also new variables? We prove some results about extensions of the most interesting infinite systems, and make several conjectures.{ }Our most surprising positive result is a compatibility result for Milliken-Taylor systems, stating that (in many cases) one may adjoin one Milliken-Taylor system to a translate of another and remain image partition regular. This is in contrast to earlier results, which had suggested a strong inconsistency~between different Milliken-Taylor systems. Our main tools for this are some algebraic properties of \(\beta {\mathbb N}\), the Stone-Čech compactification of the natural numbers.