The reachability problem for graphs cannot be described, in the
sense of descriptive complexity theory, using a single first-order
formula. This is true both for directed and undirected graphs, both
in the finite and infinite. However, if we restrict ourselves to
graphs in which a certain graph parameter is fixed ... more >>>

It is well-known that every first-order property on words is expressible
using at most three variables. The subclass of properties expressible with
only two variables is also quite interesting and well-studied. We prove
precise structure theorems that characterize the exact expressive power of
first-order logic with two variables on words. ... more >>>

Ehrenfeucht-Fraisse games and their generalizations have been quite successful in finite model theory and yield various inexpressibility results. However, for key problems such as P $\ne$ NP or NP $\ne$ coNP no progress has been achieved using the games. We show that for these problems it is already hard to ... more >>>