FundaÃÃo Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Cientifico e TecnolÃgico / A noÃÃo de menor ponto-fixo de um operador à amplamente aplicada na ciÃncia da computaÃÃo como, por exemplo, no contexto das linguagens de consulta para bancos de dados relacionais. Algumas extensÃes da LÃgica de Primeira-Ordem (FOL)1 com operadores de ponto-fixo em estruturas finitas, como a lÃgica de menor ponto-fixo (LFP)2, foram propostas para lidar com problemas relacionados à expressividade de FOL. A LFP captura as classes de complexidade PTIME sobre a classe das estruturas finitas ordenadas. A caracterizaÃÃo descritiva de classes computacionais à uma abordagem central em Teoria do Modelos Finitos (FMT)3. O teorema de Trakhtenbrot, considerado o ponto de partida para FMT, estabelece que a validade sobre modelos finitos nÃo à recursivamente enumerÃvel, isto Ã, a completude falha sobre modelos finitos. Este resultado à baseado na hipÃtese de que qualquer sistema dedutivo à de natureza finita. Entretanto, nos podemos relaxar tal hipÃtese como foi feito no escopo da teoria da prova para aritmÃtica. A teoria da prova tem raÃzes no programa de Hilbert. ConseqÃÃncias teÃricas da noÃÃo de prova sÃo, por exemplo, relacionadas a teoremas de normalizaÃÃo, consistÃncia, decidibilidade, e resultados de complexidade. A teoria da prova para aritmÃtica tambÃm à motivada pelos teoremas de incompletude de GÃdel, cujo alvo foi fornecer um exemplo de um princÃpio matemÃtico verdadeiro e significativo que nÃo à derivÃvel na aritmÃtica de primeira-ordem. Um meio de apresentar esta prova à baseado na definiÃÃo de um sistema de prova com uma regra infinitÃria, a w-rule, que estabiliza a consistÃncia da aritmÃtica de primeira-ordem atravÃs de uma perspectiva de teoria da prova. Motivados por esta prova, iremos propor aqui um sistema infinitÃrio de prova para LFP que nos permitirà investigar propriedades em teoria da prova. Com tal sistema dedutivo infinito, pretendemos apresentar uma teoria da prova para uma lÃgica tradicionalmente definida no escopo de FMT. Permanece aberto um caminho alternativo de provar resultados jà obtidos com FMT e tambÃm novos resultados do ponto de vista da teoria da prova. AlÃm disso, iremos propor um procedimento de normalizaÃÃo com restriÃÃes para este sistema dedutivo, que pode ser usado em um provador de teoremas para computar consultas em banco de dados relacionais / The notion of the least fixed-point of an operator is widely applied in computer science as, for instance, in the context of query languages for relational databases. Some extensions of FOL with _xed-point operators on finite structures, as the least fixed-point logic (LFP), were proposed to deal with problem problems related to the expressivity of FOL. LFP captures the complexity class PTIME over the class of _nite ordered structures. The descriptive characterization of computational classes is a central issue within _nite model theory (FMT). Trakhtenbrot's theorem, considered the starting point of FMT, states that validity over finite models is not recursively enumerable, that is, completeness fails over finite models. This result is based on an underlying assumption that any deductive system is of finite nature. However, we can relax such assumption as done in the scope of proof theory for arithmetic. Proof theory has roots in the Hilbert's programme. Proof theoretical consequences are, for instance, related to normalization theorems, consistency, decidability, and complexity results. The proof theory for arithmetic is also motivated by Godel incompleteness theorems. It aims to o_er an example of a true mathematically meaningful principle not derivable in first-order arithmetic. One way of presenting this proof is based on a definition of a proof system with an infinitary rule, the w-rule, that establishes the consistency of first-order arithmetic through a proof-theoretical perspective. Motivated by this proof, here we will propose an in_nitary proof system for LFP that will allow us to investigate proof theoretical properties. With such in_nitary deductive system, we aim to present a proof theory for a logic traditionally defined within the scope of FMT. It opens up an alternative way of proving results already obtained within FMT and also new results through a proof theoretical perspective. Moreover, we will propose a normalization procedure with some restrictions on the rules, such this deductive system can be used in a theorem prover to compute queries on relational databases.

Diese Arbeit leistet Beiträge zu drei Gebieten der deskriptiven Komplexitätstheorie. Zunächst adaptieren wir einen repräsentationsinvarianten Graphkanonisierungsalgorithmus mit einfach exponentieller Laufzeit von Corneil und Goldberg (1984) und folgern, dass die Logik "Choiceless Polynomial Time with Counting" auf Strukturen, deren Relationen höchstens Stelligkeit 2 haben, gerade die Polynomialzeit-Eigenschaften (PTIME) von Fragmenten logarithmischer Größe charakterisiert. Der zweite Beitrag untersucht die deskriptive Komplexität von PTIME-Berechnungen auf eingeschränkten Graphklassen. Wir stellen eine neuartige Normalform von Intervallgraphen vor, die sich in Fixpunktlogik mit Zählen (FP+C) definieren lässt, was bedeutet, dass FP+C auf dieser Graphklasse PTIME charakterisiert. Wir adaptieren außerdem unsere Methoden, um einen kanonischen Beschriftungsalgorithmus für Intervallgraphen zu erhalten, der sich mit logarithmischer Platzbeschränkung (LOGSPACE) berechnen lässt. Im dritten Teil der Arbeit beschäftigt uns die ungelöste Frage, ob es eine Logik gibt, die alle Polynomialzeit-Berechnungen charakterisiert. Wir führen eine Reihe von Ranglogiken ein, die die Fähigkeit besitzen, den Rang von Matrizen über Primkörpern zu berechnen. Wir zeigen, dass diese Ergänzung um lineare Algebra robuste Logiken hervor bringt, deren Ausdrucksstärke die von FP+C übertrifft. Außerdem beweisen wir, dass Ranglogiken strikt an Ausdrucksstärke gewinnen, wenn wir die Zahl an Variablen erhöhen, die die betrachteten Matrizen indizieren. Dann bauen wir eine Brücke zur klassischen Komplexitätstheorie, indem wir über geordneten Strukturen eine Reihe von Komplexitätsklassen zwischen LOGSPACE und PTIME durch Ranglogiken charakterisieren. Die Arbeit etabliert die stärkste der Ranglogiken als Kandidat für die Charakterisierung von PTIME und legt nahe, dass Ranglogiken genauer erforscht werden müssen, um weitere Fortschritte im Hinblick auf eine Logik für Polynomialzeit zu erzielen. / This thesis is making contributions to three strands of descriptive complexity theory. First, we adapt a representation-invariant, singly exponential-time graph canonization algorithm of Corneil and Goldberg (1984) and conclude that on structures whose relations are of arity at most 2, the logic "Choiceless Polynomial Time with Counting" precisely characterizes the polynomial-time (PTIME) properties of logarithmic-size fragments. The second contribution investigates the descriptive complexity of PTIME computations on restricted classes of graphs. We present a novel canonical form for the class of interval graphs which is definable in fixed-point logic with counting (FP+C), which shows that FP+C captures PTIME on this graph class. We also adapt our methods to obtain a canonical labeling algorithm for interval graphs which is computable in logarithmic space (LOGSPACE). The final part of this thesis takes aim at the open question whether there exists a logic which generally captures polynomial-time computations. We introduce a variety of rank logics with the ability to compute the ranks of matrices over (finite) prime fields. We argue that this introduction of linear algebra results in robust logics whose expressiveness surpasses that of FP+C. Additionally, we establish that rank logics strictly gain in expressiveness when increasing the number of variables that index the matrices we consider. Then we establish a direct connection to standard complexity theory by showing that in the presence of orders, a variety of complexity classes between LOGSPACE and PTIME can be characterized by suitable rank logics. Our exposition provides evidence that rank logics are a natural object to study and establishes the most expressive of our rank logics as a viable candidate for capturing PTIME, suggesting that rank logics need to be better understood if progress is to be made towards a logic for polynomial time.