In the first part of the paper we study arithmetical properties of Pascal triangles modulo a prime power; the main result is the generalization of Lucas' theorem. Then we investigate the structure N; Bpx, where p is a prime, α is an integer greater than one, and Bpx = Rem, px); it is shown that addition is first-order definable in this structure, and that its elementary theory is decidable.

Arithmetical definability has been extensively studied over the natural numbers. In this paper, we take up the study of arithmetical definability over finite structures, motivated by the correspondence between uniform AC0 and FO. We prove finite analogs of three classic results in arithmetical definability, namely that < and TIMES can first-order define PLUS, that < and DIVIDES can first-order define TIMES, and that < and COPRIME can first-order define TIMES. The first result sharpens the equivalence FO =FO to FO = (...) FO, answering a question raised by Barrington et al. about the Crane Beach Conjecture. Together with previous results on the Crane Beach Conjecture, our results imply that FO is strictly less expressive than FO = FO = FO. In more colorful language, one could say that, for parallel computation, multiplication is harder than addition. (shrink)

We prove that the finite-model version of arithmetic with the divisibility relation is undecidable . Additionally we prove FM-representability theorem for this class of finite models. This means that a relation R on natural numbers can be described correctly on each input on almost all finite divisibility models if and only if R is of degree ≤0′. We obtain these results by interpreting addition and multiplication on initial segments of finite models with divisibility only.

We present a method of transferring Tarski's technique of classifying finite order concepts by means of truth-definitions into finite mode theory. The other considered question is the problem of representability relations on words or natural numbers in finite models. We prove that relations representable in finite models are exactly those which are of degree ≤ o′. Finally, we consider theories of sufficiently large finite models. For a given theory T we define sl as the set of all sentences true in (...) almost all finite models for T. For theories of sufficiently large models our version of Tarski's technique becomes practically the same as the classica one. We investigate also degrees of undecidability for theories of sufficiently large finite models. We prove for some special theory ST that its degree is stronger than 0′ but still not more than Σ02. (shrink)