Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-computer-science-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2015/logic-and-proof/2/f/solution
Past exam of the computer science course of the University of Oxford 2015 Logic and proof 2 f Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
Use the back-and-forth method. Enumerate the two domains without repetitions as and . We construct a sequence of finite maps, each a partial isomorphism of structures,starting with the empty function. Each is a bijection between finite subsets of the domains and preserves both adjacency and nonadjacency on its domain.
At a forth step, choose the first outside the current domain. List the finitely many domain vertices as . In , prescribe that the new image be adjacent to exactly when is adjacent to in . Since the image vertices are distinct, an extension axiom in supplies such a outside the entire current range. Extend by . This preserves injectivity, adjacency and nonadjacency, including the absence of loops.
At a back step, choose the first outside the current range. Apply the same argument to the inverse partial isomorphism of structures in , finding a fresh preimage with the required adjacency pattern to the current domain. Extend by this new pair. Alternate forth and back steps indefinitely.
DefineBecause each finite function extends the preceding one, this is a well-defined injective function. The forth steps eventually include every in its domain, and the back steps eventually include every in its range, so is a bijection. Given any , both lie in the domain of some finite , where the edge equivalence already holds. It therefore also holds for :Thus the two first-order structures are isomorphic. Alternating the steps is essential for surjectivity: repeatedly extending only the domain would merely construct an embedding into .
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