Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2003 / iii / Paper 19 / 7 / i / Solution

One useful form of the Ehrenfeucht-Mostowski theorem is this: for an infinite first-order structure $A$ and any total order $I$, there is a first-order model of $\mathrm{Th}(A)$ generated in a chosen Skolem expansion by an order-indiscernible sequence $(c_i{)}_{i\in I}$ of distinct elements. Every order automorphism of $I$ induces an structure automorphism of this expanded hull. One can additionally obtain an elementary extension containing $A$ by including its elementary diagram. Uniqueness of the induced structure automorphism is asserted in the Skolem expansion, not among arbitrary structure automorphisms of the reduct.

Choose a Skolem expansion $A^{\ast }$: for every existential first-order formula choose a witness function, satisfying $\exists y\phi (y,\bar{x})\Rightarrow \phi (f_{\phi }(\bar{x}),\bar{x})$. Iterate the expansion if necessary so witnesses are available for first-order formulas in the resulting language. Add constants $c_i$ and require $c_i\ne c_j$ for distinct indices. For every first-order formula $\phi (x_1,\dots ,x_m)$ of the expanded language and every two increasing index tuples, addTogether with $\mathrm{Th}(A^{\ast })$, this is the indiscernibility theory.

Every finite fragment is satisfiable. It mentions only finitely many first-order formulas and index constants. Choose a countably infinite sequence of distinct elements of $A^{\ast }$. For each relevant arity, colour increasing tuples from that sequence by the finite truth vector of all first-order formulas of that arity in the fragment. Successive applications of the infinite Ramsey theorem for r-sets leave an infinite subset homogeneous for each of these finitely many finite colourings. Interpret the finitely many index constants by distinct elements of that subset in increasing enumeration order. All the required truth-value equivalences then hold, and the original structure satisfies the finite part of its own theory.

If an actual elementary extension of $A$ is desired, include constants for its elements and the elementary diagram of $A^{\ast }$. A finite fragment still contains only finitely many parameter instances; include those truth vectors in the same colourings. Thus finite satisfiability is unchanged. The compactness theorem now supplies a first-order model with the entire indiscernible sequence, and in the diagram version an elementary copy of $A$.

Take the Skolem hull of the generators, including the diagram constants when present. The witness functions show directly that the hull is elementary: whenever an existential first-order formula with hull parameters is true in the ambient first-order model, its Skolem witness belongs to the hull. Induction on first-order formulas, or the Tarski-Vaught test, gives elementarity. Its reduct is therefore a first-order model of $\mathrm{Th}(A)$. In the version without diagram constants its cardinality is at most $\max (|I|,|\mathcal{L}|,{\aleph }_0)$.

For an order automorphism $\rho :I\to I$, defineThis is well defined. If two terms represent the same element, express their equality as a first-order formula on the increasing union of their generator indices. Indiscernibility and preservation of the index order carry that equality to the transported terms. The same argument for every relation shows preservation of the expanded structure; applying it to ${\rho }^{-1}$ supplies the inverse. Every element is a term in the generators, so no other structure automorphism of the specified expansion can have the same action on them. HenceFor an application requiring the generators to lie in a definable infinite ordered class, impose that class predicate and its increasing-order first-order formulas too. The finite-fragment proof uses an increasing sequence in that class, so all these additional conditions are preserved. In particular the integer index order and its shift give the structure automorphism used in the NFU construction. The constants are order indiscernibles, not necessarily indiscernibles under arbitrary permutations of the index set.