Ramsey's Theorem Research Articles

The Ramsey property for operator spaces and noncommutative Choquet simplices

The noncommutative Gurarij space NG, initially defined by Oikhberg, is a canonical object in the theory of operator spaces. As the Fraïssé limit of the class of finite-dimensional nuclear operator spaces, it can be seen as the noncommutative analogue of the classical Gurarij Banach space. In this paper, we prove that the automorphism group of NG is extremely amenable, i.e. any of its actions on compact spaces has a fixed point. The proof relies on the Dual Ramsey Theorem, and a version of the Kechris–Pestov–Todorcevic correspondence in the setting of operator spaces.Recent work of Davidson and Kennedy, building on previous work of Arveson, Effros, Farenick, Webster, and Winkler, among others, shows that nuclear operator systems can be seen as the noncommutative analogue of Choquet simplices. The analogue of the Poulsen simplex in this context is the matrix state space NP of the Fraïssé limit A(NP) of the class of finite-dimensional nuclear operator systems. We show that the canonical action of the automorphism group of NP on the compact set NP1 of unital linear functionals on A(NP) is minimal and it factors onto any minimal action, whence providing a description of the universal minimal flow of Aut(NP).

Ramsey property and block oscillation stability on normalized sequences in Banach spaces

A well-known application of the Ramsey Theorem in the Banach Space Theory is the proof of the fact that every normalized basic sequence has a subsequence which generates a spreading model (the Brunel-Sucheston Theorem). Based on this application, as an intermediate step, we can talk about the notion of $(k,\varepsilon)-$oscillation stable sequence, which will be described and analyzed more generally in this article. Indeed, we introduce the notion $((\mathcal{B}_i)_{i=1}^k,\varepsilon)-$block oscillation stable sequence where $(\mathcal{B}_i)_{i=1}^k$ is a finite sequence of barriers and using what we will call blocks of barriers. In particular, we prove that the Ramsey Theorem is equivalent to the statement ``for every finite sequence $(\mathcal{B}_i)_{i=1}^k$ of barriers, every $\varepsilon>0$ and every normalized sequence $(x_i)_{i\in\mathbb{N}}$ there is a subsequence $(x_i)_{i\in M}$ that is $((\mathcal{B}_i\cap\mathcal{P}(M))_{i=1}^k,\varepsilon)-$block oscillation stable'', where $\mathcal{P}(M)$ is the power set of the infinite set M. Besides, we introduce the $(\mathcal{B}_i)_{i\in\mathbb{N}}-$block asymptotic model of a normalized basic sequence where $(\mathcal{B}_i)_{i\in\mathbb{N}}$ is a sequence of barriers. These models are a generalization of the spreading models and are related to the $((\mathcal{B}_i)_{i=1}^k,\varepsilon)-$block oscillation stable sequences. We show that the Brunel-Sucheston is satisfied for the $(\mathcal{B}_i)_{i\in\mathbb{N}}-$block asymptotic models, and we also prove that this result is equivalent to the Ramsey Theorem. The difference between our theorem and the Brunel-Sucheston Theorem is based on the number of different models that are obtained from the same normalized basic sequence through them. This and other observations about $(\mathcal{B}_i)_{i\in\mathbb{N}}-$block asymptotic models are noted in an example at the end of the article.

Polynomially Bounding the Number of Minimal Separators in Graphs: Reductions, Sufficient Conditions, and a Dichotomy Theorem

A graph class is said to be tame if graphs in the class have a polynomially bounded number of minimal separators. Tame graph classes have good algorithmic properties, which follow, for example, from an algorithmic metatheorem of Fomin, Todinca, and Villanger from 2015. We show that a hereditary graph class $\mathcal{G}$ is tame if and only if the subclass consisting of graphs in $\mathcal{G}$ without clique cutsets is tame. This result and Ramsey's theorem lead to several types of sufficient conditions for a graph class to be tame. In particular, we show that any hereditary class of graphs of bounded clique cover number that excludes some complete prism is tame, where a complete prism is the Cartesian product of a complete graph with a $K_2$. We apply these results, combined with constructions of graphs with exponentially many minimal separators, to develop a dichotomy theorem separating tame from non-tame graph classes within the family of graph classes defined by sets of forbidden induced subgraphs with at most four vertices.

Finiteness classes arising from Ramsey-theoretic statements in set theory without choice

We investigate infinite sets that witness the failure of certain Ramsey-theoretic statements, such as Ramsey's or (appropriately phrased) Hindman's theorem; such sets may exist if one does not assume the Axiom of Choice. We obtain very precise information as to where such sets are located within the hierarchy of infinite Dedekind-finite sets.

THE OPEN AND CLOPEN RAMSEY THEOREMS IN THE WEIHRAUCH LATTICE

AbstractWe investigate the uniform computational content of the open and clopen Ramsey theorems in the Weihrauch lattice. While they are known to be equivalent to $\mathrm {ATR_0}$ from the point of view of reverse mathematics, there is not a canonical way to phrase them as multivalued functions. We identify eight different multivalued functions (five corresponding to the open Ramsey theorem and three corresponding to the clopen Ramsey theorem) and study their degree from the point of view of Weihrauch, strong Weihrauch, and arithmetic Weihrauch reducibility. In particular one of our functions turns out to be strictly stronger than any previously studied multivalued functions arising from statements around $\mathrm {ATR}_0$ .

A short proof of anti-Ramsey number for cycles

Ramsey's theorem states that there exists a least positive integer R(r, s) for which every blue-red edge colouring of the complete graph on R(r, s) vertices contains a blue clique on r vertices or a red clique on s vertices. This work contains a simplified proof of Anti-Ramsey theorem for cycles. If there is an edge e between H and H0, incident to, say, some v ∈ H of color from NEWc(v), then we can make H and H0 connected by adding the edge e and deleting some edge incident to v of the same color as e in H, so the resulting graph G˜ has a connected component of order ≥ 2( k+1/2 ), which contradicts that every connected component is of order ≤ k − 1. Since each component is Hamiltonian and of order ≥ k+1/ 2 , to avoid a rainbow Ck, by the same type of argument as in Claim 1, we must have that |c(H, H0 )| = 1.

Ramsey properties and extending partial automorphisms forhbox classes of finite structures

We show that every free amalgamation class of finite structures with relations and (symmetric) partial functions is a Ramsey class when enriched by a free linear ordering of vertices. This is a common strengthening of the Ne\v{s}et\v{r}il-R\"odl Theorem and the second and third authors' Ramsey theorem for finite models (that is, structures with both relations and functions). We also find subclasses with the ordering property. For languages with relational symbols and unary functions we also show the extension property for partial automorphisms (EPPA) of free amalgamation classes. These general results solve several conjectures and provide an easy Ramseyness test for many classes of structures.

No Quantum Ramsey Theorem for Stabilizer Codes

In this paper we study the quantum graphs of mixed-unitary channels generated by tensor products of Pauli operators, which we call Pauli channels. We show that most quantum graphs arising from Pauli channels have non-trivial quantum cliques or quantum anticliques which are stabilizer codes. However, a reformulation of Nik Weaver's quantum Ramsey theorem in terms of stabilizer codes and Pauli channels fails. Specifically, for every positive integer $n$, there exists an $n$-qubit Pauli channel for which any non-trivial quantum clique or quantum anticlique fails to be a stabilizer code.

Some upper bounds on ordinal-valued Ramsey numbers for colourings of pairs

We study Ramsey's theorem for pairs and two colours in the context of the theory of $\alpha$-large sets introduced by Ketonen and Solovay. We prove that any $2$-colouring of pairs from an $\omega^{300n}$-large set admits an $\omega^n$-large homogeneous set. We explain how a formalized version of this bound gives a more direct proof, and a strengthening, of the recent result of Patey and Yokoyama [Adv. Math. 330 (2018), 1034--1070] stating that Ramsey's theorem for pairs and two colours is $\forall\Sigma^0_2$-conservative over the axiomatic theory $\mathsf{RCA}_0$ (recursive comprehension).

An infinite quantum Ramsey theorem

We prove an infinite Ramsey theorem for noncommutative graphs realized as unital self-adjoint subspaces of linear operators acting on an infinite dimensional Hilbert space. Specifically, we prove that if V is such a subspace, then provided there is no obvious obstruction, there is an infinite rank projection P with the property that the compression PVP is either maximal or minimal in a certain natural sense.

Amalgamation and Ramsey properties of Lp spaces

We study the dynamics of the group of isometries of Lp-spaces. In particular, we study the canonical actions of these groups on the space of δ-isometric embeddings of finite dimensional subspaces of Lp(0,1) into itself, and we show that for every real number 1≤p<∞ with p≠4,6,8,… they are ε-transitive provided that δ is small enough. We achieve this by extending the classical equimeasurability principle of Plotkin and Rudin. We define the central notion of a Fraïssé Banach space which underlies these results and of which the known separable examples are the spaces Lp(0,1), p≠4,6,8,… and the Gurarij space. We also give a proof of the Ramsey property of the classes {ℓpn}n, p≠2,∞, viewing it as a multidimensional Borsuk-Ulam statement. We relate this to an arithmetic version of the Dual Ramsey Theorem of Graham and Rothschild as well as to the notion of a spreading vector of Matoušek and Rödl. Finally, we give a version of the Kechris-Pestov-Todorcevic correspondence that links the dynamics of the group of isometries of an approximately ultrahomogeneous space X with a Ramsey property of the collection of finite dimensional subspaces of X.

On the strength of Ramsey's theorem for trees

Let TT1 denote the principle that every finite coloring of the full binary tree has a homogeneous isomorphic subtree, i.e. one that is monochromatic. We show that over the system RCA0, the inductive strength of TT1 is weaker than Σ20-induction. This follows from the main theorem that over the same system, TT1 is Π11-conservative over Σ20-bounding plus the principle of the totality of the Ackermann function.

Improved bounds for the Erdős-Rogers function

[Ramsey's Theorem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramsey%27s_theorem) is one of the most prominent results in graph theory. In its simplest form, it asserts that every sufficiently large two-edge-colored complete graph contains a large monochromatic complete subgraph. This theorem has been generalized to a plethora of statements asserting that every sufficiently large structure of a given kind contains a large "tame" substructure. The article concerns a closely related problem: for a structure with a given property, find a substructure possessing an even stronger property. For example, what is the largest $K_3$-free induced subgraph of an $n$-vertex $K_4$-free graph? The answer to this question is approximately $n^{1/2}$. The lower bound is easy. If a given graph has a vertex of degree at least $n^{1/2}$, then its neighbors induce a $K_3$-free subgraph with at least $n^{1/2}$ vertices. Otherwise, a greedy procedure yields an independent set of size almost $n^{1/2}$. The argument generalizes to $K_s$-free induced subgraphs of $K_{s+1}$-free graphs. Dudek, Retter and Rödl provided a construction showing that the exponent $1/2$ cannot be improved and asked whether the same is the case for $K_s$-free induced subgraphs of $K_{s+2}$-free graphs. The authors answer this question by providing a construction of $K_{s+2}$-free $n$-vertex graphs with no $K_s$-free induced subgraph with $n^{\alpha_s}$ vertices with $\alpha_s&lt;1/2$ for every $s\ge 3$. Their arguments extend to the case of $K_t$-free graphs with no large $K_s$-free induced subgraph for $s+2\le t\le 2s-1$ and $s\ge 3$.

English

We discuss dual Ramsey statements for several classes of finite relational structures (such as finite linearly ordered graphs, finite linearly ordered metric spaces and finite posets with a linear extension) and conclude the paper with another rendering of the Nesetřil-Rodl Theorem for relational structures. Instead of embeddings which are crucial for ``direct'' Ramsey results, for each class of structures under consideration we propose a special class of quotient maps and prove a dual Ramsey theorem in such a setting. Although our methods are based on reinterpreting the (dual) Ramsey property in the language of category theory, all our results are about classes of finite structures.

Thin set theorems and cone avoidance

The thin set theorem R T &gt; ∞ , ℓ n \operatorname {\mathsf {RT}}^n_{&gt;\infty ,\ell } asserts the existence, for every k k -coloring of the subsets of natural numbers of size n n , of an infinite set of natural numbers, all of whose subsets of size n n use at most ℓ \ell colors. Whenever ℓ = 1 \ell = 1 , the statement corresponds to Ramsey’s theorem. From a computational viewpoint, the thin set theorem admits a threshold phenomenon, in that whenever the number of colors ℓ \ell is sufficiently large with respect to the size n n of the tuples, the thin set theorem admits strong cone avoidance. Let d 0 , d 1 , … d_0, d_1, \dots be the sequence of Catalan numbers. For n ≥ 1 n \geq 1 , R T &gt; ∞ , ℓ n \operatorname {\mathsf {RT}}^n_{&gt;\infty , \ell } admits strong cone avoidance if and only if ℓ ≥ d n \ell \geq d_n and cone avoidance if and only if ℓ ≥ d n − 1 \ell \geq d_{n-1} . We say that a set A A is R T &gt; ∞ , ℓ n \operatorname {\mathsf {RT}}^n_{&gt;\infty , \ell } -encodable if there is an instance of R T &gt; ∞ , ℓ n \operatorname {\mathsf {RT}}^n_{&gt;\infty , \ell } such that every solution computes A A . The R T &gt; ∞ , ℓ n \operatorname {\mathsf {RT}}^n_{&gt;\infty , \ell } -encodable sets are precisely the hyperarithmetic sets if and only if ℓ &gt; 2 n − 1 \ell &gt; 2^{n-1} , the arithmetic sets if and only if 2 n − 1 ≤ ℓ &gt; d n 2^{n-1} \leq \ell &gt; d_n , and the computable sets if and only if d n ≤ ℓ d_n \leq \ell .

A Ramsey Theorem for Biased Graphs

A biased graph is a pair $(G,\mathcal{B})$, where $G$ is a graph and $\mathcal{B}$ is a collection of “balanced” cycles of $G$ such that no $\Theta$-subgraph of $G$ contains precisely two balanced cycles. We prove a Ramsey-type theorem, showing that if $(G,\mathcal{B})$ is a biased graph for which $G$ is a very large complete graph, then $G$ contains a large complete subgraph $H$ such that the set of balanced cycles within $H$ has one of three specific, highly symmetric structures, all of which can be described naturally via group-labelings.

The Ramsey number of books

Ramsey's Theorem is among the most well-known results in combinatorics. The theorem states that any two-edge-coloring of a sufficiently large complete graph contains a large monochromatic complete subgraph. Indeed, any two-edge-coloring of a complete graph with N=4t−o(t) vertices contains a monochromatic copy of Kt. On the other hand, a probabilistic argument yields that there exists a two-edge-coloring of a complete graph with N=2t/2+o(t) with no monochromatic copy of Kt. Much attention has been paid to improving these classical bounds but only improvements to lower order terms have been obtained so far. A natural question in this setting is to ask whether every two-edge-coloring of a sufficiently large complete graph contains a monochromatic copy of Kt that can be extended in many ways to a monochromatic copy of Kt+1. Specifically, Erdős, Faudree, Rousseau and Schelp in the 1970's asked whether every two-edge-coloring of KN contains a monochromatic copy of Kt that can be extended in at least (1−ok(1))2−tN ways to a monochromatic copy of Kt+1. A random two-edge-coloring of KN witnesses that this would be best possible. While the intuition coming from random constructions can be misleading, for example, a famous construction by Thomason shows the existence of a two-edge-coloring of a complete graph with fewer monochromatic copies of Kt than a random two-edge-coloring, this paper confirms that the intuition coming from a random construction is correct in this case. In particular, the author answers this question of Erdős et al. in the affirmative. The question can be phrased in the language of Ramsey theory as a problem on determining the Ramsey number of book graphs. A book graph B(k)t is a graph obtained from Kt by adding k new vertices and joining each new vertex to all the vertices of Kt. The main result of the paper asserts that every two-edge-coloring of a complete graph with N=2kt+ok(t) vertices contains a monochromatic copy of B(k)t.

All those Ramsey classes (Ramsey classes with closures and forbidden homomorphisms)

We prove the Ramsey property for classes of ordered structures with closures and given local properties. This generalises earlier results: the Nešetřil–Rödl Theorem, the Ramsey property of partial orders and metric spaces as well as the authors' Ramsey lift of bowtie-free graphs. We use this framework to solve several open problems and give new examples of Ramsey classes. Among others, we find Ramsey lifts of convexly ordered S-metric spaces and prove the Ramsey theorem for finite models (i.e. structures with both functions and relations) thus providing the ultimate generalisation of the structural Ramsey theorem. Both of these results are natural, and easy to state, yet their proofs involve most of the theory developed here.We also characterise Ramsey lifts of classes of structures defined by finitely many forbidden homomorphisms and extend this to special cases of classes with closures. This has numerous applications. For example, we find Ramsey lifts of many Cherlin–Shelah–Shi classes.

On the satisfiability problem for fragments of two-variable logic with one transitive relation

Abstract We study the satisfiability problem for two-variable first-order logic over structures with one transitive relation. We show that the problem is decidable in 2-NExpTime for the fragment consisting of formulas where existential quantifiers are guarded by transitive atoms. As this fragment enjoys neither the finite model property nor the tree model property, to show decidability we introduce a novel model construction technique based on the infinite Ramsey theorem. We also point out why the technique is not sufficient to obtain decidability for the full two-variable logic with one transitive relation; hence, contrary to our previous claim, [FO$^2$ with one transitive relation is decidable, STACS 2013: 317-328], the status of the latter problem remains open.

A dual Ramsey theorem for finite ordered oriented graphs

Abstract In contrast to the abundance of “direct” Ramsey results for classes of finite structures (such as finite ordered graphs, finite ordered metric spaces and finite posets with a linear extension), in only a handful of cases we have a meaningful dual Ramsey result. In this paper we prove a dual Ramsey theorem for finite ordered oriented graphs. Instead of embeddings, which are crucial for “direct” Ramsey results, we consider a special class of surjective homomorphisms between finite ordered oriented graphs. Since the setting we are interested in involves both structures and morphisms, all our results are spelled out using the reinterpretation of the (dual) Ramsey property in the language of category theory.