Nonstandard Methods In Ramsey Theory And Combinatorial Number Theory

The goal of this monograph is to give an accessible introduction to nonstandard methods and their applications, with an emphasis on combinatorics and Ramsey theory. It includes both new nonstandard proofs of classical results and recent developments initially obtained in the nonstandard setting. This makes it the first combinatorics-focused account of nonstandard methods to be aimed at a general (graduate-level) mathematical audience. This book will provide a natural starting point for researchers interested in approaching the rapidly growing literature on combinatorial results obtained via nonstandard methods. The primary audience consists of graduate students and specialists in logic and combinatorics who wish to pursue research at the interface between these areas.

This book takes the reader on a journey through Ramsey theory, from graph theory and combinatorics to set theory to logic and metamathematics. Written in an informal style with few requisites, it develops two basic principles of Ramsey theory: many combinatorial properties persist under partitions, but to witness this persistence, one has to start with very large objects. The interplay between those two principles not only produces beautiful theorems but also touches the very foundations of mathematics. In the course of this book, the reader will learn about both aspects. Among the topics explored are Ramsey's theorem for graphs and hypergraphs, van der Waerden's theorem on arithmetic progressions, infinite ordinals and cardinals, fast growing functions, logic and provability, Gödel incompleteness, and the Paris-Harrington theorem. Quoting from the book, “There seems to be a murky abyss lurking at the bottom of mathematics. While in many ways we cannot hope to reach solid ground, mathematicians have built impressive ladders that let us explore the depths of this abyss and marvel at the limits and at the power of mathematical reasoning at the same time. Ramsey theory is one of those ladders.”

Based on talks from the 2017 and 2018 Combinatorial and Additive Number Theory (CANT) workshops at the City University of New York, these proceedings offer 17 peer-reviewed and edited papers on current topics in number theory. Held every year since 2003, the workshop series surveys state-of-the-art open problems in combinatorial and additive number theory and related parts of mathematics. Topics featured in this volume include sumsets, partitions, convex polytopes and discrete geometry, Ramsey theory, commutative algebra and discrete geometry, and applications of logic and nonstandard analysis to number theory. Each contribution is dedicated to a specific topic that reflects the latest results by experts in the field. This selection of articles will be of relevance to both researchers and graduate students interested in current progress in number theory.

Based on talks from the 2017 and 2018 Combinatorial and Additive Number Theory (CANT) workshops at the City University of New York, these proceedings offer 17 peer-reviewed and edited papers on current topics in number theory. Held every year since 2003, the workshop series surveys state-of-the-art open problems in combinatorial and additive number theory and related parts of mathematics. Topics featured in this volume include sumsets, partitions, convex polytopes and discrete geometry, Ramsey theory, commutative algebra and discrete geometry, and applications of logic and nonstandard analysis to number theory. Each contribution is dedicated to a specific topic that reflects the latest results by experts in the field. This selection of articles will be of relevance to both researchers and graduate students interested in current progress in number theory.

'This text shows that the study of the almost-forgotten, non-Archimedean mathematics deserves to be utilized more intently in a variety of fields within the larger domain of applied mathematics.'CHOICEThis book contains an original introduction to the use of infinitesimal and infinite numbers, namely, the Alpha-Theory, which can be considered as an alternative approach to nonstandard analysis.The basic principles are presented in an elementary way by using the ordinary language of mathematics; this is to be contrasted with other presentations of nonstandard analysis where technical notions from logic are required since the beginning. Some applications are included and aimed at showing the power of the theory.The book also provides a comprehensive exposition of the Theory of Numerosity, a new way of counting (countable) infinite sets that maintains the ancient Euclid's Principle: 'The whole is larger than its parts'. The book is organized into five parts: Alpha-Calculus, Alpha-Theory, Applications, Foundations, and Numerosity Theory.

This book contains two sets of notes prepared for the Advanced Course on R- sey Methods in Analysis given at the Centre de Recerca Matem` atica in January 2004, as part of its year-long research programme on Set Theory and its Appli- tions. The common goal of the two sets of notes is to help young mathematicians enter a very active area of research lying on the borderline between analysis and combinatorics. The solution of the distortion problem for the Hilbert space, the unconditional basic sequence problem for Banach spaces, and the Banach ho- geneous space problem are samples of the most important recent advances in this area, and our two sets of notes will give some account of this. But our main goal was to try to expose the general principles and methods that lie hidden behind and are most likely useful for further developments. The goal of the ?rst set of notes is to describe a general method of building norms with desired properties, a method that is clearly relevant when testing any sort of intuition about the in?nite-dimensional geometry of Banach spaces. The goal of the second set of notes is to expose Ramsey-theoretic methods relevant for describing the rough structure present in this sort of geometry. We would like to thank the coordinator of the Advanced Course, Joan Ba- ria, and the director of the CRM, Manuel Castellet, for giving us this challenging but rewarding opportunity. Part A SaturatedandConditional StructuresinBanachSpaces SpirosA.

Key problems and conjectures have played an important role in promoting the development of Ramsey theory, a field where great progress has been made during the past two decades, with some old problems solved and many new problems proposed. The present book will be helpful to readers who wish to learn about interesting problems in Ramsey theory, to see how they are interconnected, and then to study them in depth. This book is the first problem book of such scope in Ramsey theory. Many unsolved problems, conjectures and related partial results in Ramsey theory are presented, in areas such as extremal graph theory, additive number theory, discrete geometry, functional analysis, algorithm design, and in other areas. Most presented problems are easy to understand, but they may be difficult to solve. They can be appreciated on many levels and by a wide readership, ranging from undergraduate students majoring in mathematics to research mathematicians. This collection is an essential reference for mathematicians working in combinatorics and number theory, as well as for computer scientists studying algorithms. Contents Some definitions and notations Ramsey theory Bi-color diagonal classical Ramsey numbers Paley graphs and lower bounds for R(k, k) Bi-color off-diagonal classical Ramsey numbers Multicolor classical Ramsey numbers Generalized Ramsey numbers Folkman numbers The Erdős–Hajnal conjecture Other Ramsey-type problems in graph theory On van der Waerden numbers and Szemeredi’s theorem More problems of Ramsey type in additive number theory Sidon–Ramsey numbers Games in Ramsey theory Local Ramsey theory Set-coloring Ramsey theory Other problems and conjectures