A first order theory T of power λ is called unidimensional if any twoλ+-saturated models of T of the same cardinality are isomorphic. We prove here that such theories are superstable, solving a problem of Shelah. The proof involves an existence theorem and a definability theorem for definable groups in stable theories, and an analysis of their relation to regular types.

We are concerned with the following problem. Suppose Γ and Σ are closed permutation groups on infinite sets C and W and ρ: Γ → Σ is a non-split, continuous epimorphism with finite kernel. Describe the possibilities for ρ. Here, we consider the case where ρ arises from a finite cover π: C → W. We give reasonably general conditions on the permutation structure W;Σ which allow us to prove that these covers arise in two possible ways. The first way, (...) reminiscent of covers of topological spaces, is as a covering of some Σ-invariant digraph on W. The second construction is less easy to describe, but produces the most familiar of these types of covers: a vector space covering its projective space. (shrink)