O-minimal Theory

O-minimal Theory

In mathematical logic, and more specifically in model theory, an infinite structure (M,<,...) which is totally ordered by < is called an o-minimal structure if and only if every definable subset XM (with parameters taken from M) is a finite union of intervals and points.

O-minimality can be regarded as a weak form of quantifier elimination. A structure M is o-minimal if and only if every formula with one free variable and parameters in M is equivalent to a quantifier-free formula involving only the ordering, also with parameters in M. This is analogous to the minimal structures, which are exactly the analogous property down to equality.

A theory T is an o-minimal theory if every model of T is o-minimal. It is known that the complete theory T of an o-minimal structure is an o-minimal theory. This result is remarkable because the complete theory of a minimal structure need not be a strongly minimal theory, that is, there may be an elementarily equivalent structure which is not minimal.

Read more about O-minimal Theory:  Set-theoretic Definition, Model Theoretic Definition, Examples, See Also

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