Group Order Logic

TL;DR

This paper introduces an extension of fixed-point logic with a group-order operator, enabling polynomial-time query definability and structure canonization, including complex graph structures, advancing the understanding of logical characterizations of polynomial-time computations.

Contribution

The paper extends fixed-point logic with a group-order operator, showing it captures polynomial-time queries and can define structure canonization, including structures with Abelian colors and counterexamples to previous logics.

Findings

The logic $ extsf{FP} + extsf{ord}$ is polynomial-time decidable.

It can define the query separating $ extsf{FP} + extsf{rk}$ from P.

It canonizes structures with Abelian colors, including Lichter's counter-example.

Abstract

We introduce an extension of fixed-point logic ($\mathsf{FP}$) with a group-order operator ($\mathsf{ord}$), that computes the size of a group generated by a definable set of permutations. This operation is a generalization of the rank operator ($\mathsf{rk}$). We show that $\mathsf{FP} + \mathsf{ord}$ constitutes a new candidate logic for the class of polynomial-time computable queries ($\mathsf{P}$). As was the case for $\mathsf{FP} + \mathsf{rk}$, the model-checking of $\mathsf{FP} + \mathsf{ord}$ formulae is polynomial-time computable. Moreover, the query separating $\mathsf{FP} + \mathsf{rk}$ from $\mathsf{P}$ exhibited by Lichter in his recent breakthrough is definable in $\mathsf{FP} + \mathsf{ord}$. Precisely, we show that $\mathsf{FP} + \mathsf{ord}$ canonizes structures with Abelian colors, a class of structures which contains Lichter's counter-example. This proof involves expressing a fragment of the group-theoretic approach to graph canonization in the logic $\mathsf{FP}+ \mathsf{ord}$.