Variations on the Feferman-Vaught Theorem, with applications to ${\prod }_p{\mathbb{F}}_p$

Abstract

Using the Feferman-Vaught Theorem, we prove that a definable subset of a product structure must be a Boolean combination of open sets, in the product topology induced by giving each factor structure the discrete topology. We prove a converse of the Feferman-Vaught theorem for families of structures with certain properties, including families of integral domains. We use these results to obtain characterizations of the definable subsets of ${\prod }_p{\mathbb{F}}_p$ -- in particular, every formula is equivalent to a Boolean combination of $\exists \forall \exists$ formulae.

18 pages