Ordered exponential field

In mathematics, an ordered exponential field is an ordered field together with a function which generalises the idea of exponential functions on the ordered field of real numbers.

Definition

edit

An exponential   on an ordered field   is a strictly increasing isomorphism of the additive group of   onto the multiplicative group of positive elements of  . The ordered field   together with the additional function   is called an ordered exponential field.

Examples

edit
  • The canonical example for an ordered exponential field is the ordered field of real numbers R with any function of the form   where   is a real number greater than 1. One such function is the usual exponential function, that is E(x) = ex. The ordered field R equipped with this function gives the ordered real exponential field, denoted by Rexp. It was proved in the 1990s that Rexp is model complete, a result known as Wilkie's theorem. This result, when combined with Khovanskiĭ's theorem on pfaffian functions, proves that Rexp is also o-minimal.[1] Alfred Tarski posed the question of the decidability of Rexp and hence it is now known as Tarski's exponential function problem. It is known that if the real version of Schanuel's conjecture is true then Rexp is decidable.[2]
  • The ordered field of surreal numbers   admits an exponential which extends the exponential function exp on R. Since   does not have the Archimedean property, this is an example of a non-Archimedean ordered exponential field.
  • The ordered field of logarithmic-exponential transseries   is constructed specifically in a way such that it admits a canonical exponential.

Formally exponential fields

edit

A formally exponential field, also called an exponentially closed field, is an ordered field that can be equipped with an exponential  . For any formally exponential field  , one can choose an exponential   on   such that   for some natural number  .[3]

Properties

edit
  • Every ordered exponential field   is root-closed, i.e., every positive element of   has an  -th root for all positive integer   (or in other words the multiplicative group of positive elements of   is divisible). This is so because   for all  .
  • Consequently, every ordered exponential field is a Euclidean field.
  • Consequently, every ordered exponential field is an ordered Pythagorean field.
  • Not every real-closed field is a formally exponential field, e.g., the field of real algebraic numbers does not admit an exponential. This is so because an exponential   has to be of the form   for some   in every formally exponential subfield   of the real numbers; however,   is not algebraic if   is algebraic by the Gelfond–Schneider theorem.
  • Consequently, the class of formally exponential fields is not an elementary class since the field of real numbers and the field of real algebraic numbers are elementarily equivalent structures.
  • The class of formally exponential fields is a pseudoelementary class. This is so since a field   is exponentially closed if and only if there is a surjective function   such that   and  ; and these properties of   are axiomatizable.

See also

edit

Notes

edit
  1. ^ A.J. Wilkie, Model completeness results for expansions of the ordered field of real numbers by restricted Pfaffian functions and the exponential function, J. Amer. Math. Soc., 9 (1996), pp. 1051–1094.
  2. ^ A.J. Macintyre, A.J. Wilkie, On the decidability of the real exponential field, Kreisel 70th Birthday Volume, (2005).
  3. ^ Salma Kuhlmann, Ordered Exponential Fields, Fields Institute Monographs, 12, (2000), p. 24.

References

edit
  • Alling, Norman L. (1962). "On Exponentially Closed Fields". Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society. 13 (5): 706–711. doi:10.2307/2034159. JSTOR 2034159. Zbl 0136.32201.
  • Kuhlmann, Salma (2000), Ordered Exponential Fields, Fields Institute Monographs, vol. 12, American Mathematical Society, doi:10.1090/fim/012, ISBN 0-8218-0943-1, MR 1760173