Abstract Answering a question of Cifú Lopes, we give a syntactic characterization of those continuous sentences that are preserved under reduced products of metric structures. In fact, we settle this question in the wider context of general structures as introduced by the second author.

Abstract We show that the following operator algebras have hyperarithmetic theory: the hyperfinite II$_1$ factor $\mathcal R$, $L(\varGamma )$ for $\varGamma $ a finitely generated group with solvable word problem, $C^*(\varGamma )$ for $\varGamma $ a finitely presented group, $C^*_\lambda (\varGamma )$ for $\varGamma $ a finitely generated group with solvable word problem, $C(2^\omega )$ and $C(\mathbb P)$ (where $\mathbb P$ is the pseudoarc). We also show that the Cuntz algebra $\mathcal O_2$ has a hyperarithmetic theory provided that the Kirchberg embedding problems have affirmative answers. Finally, we prove that if there is an existentially closed (e.c.) II$_1$ factor (resp. $\textrm{C}^*$-algebra) that does not have hyperarithmetic theory, then there are continuum many theories of e.c. II$_1$ factors (resp. e.c. $\textrm{C}^*$-algebras).

Abstract M. Beiglböck, V. Bergelson, and A. Fish proved that if G is a countable amenable group and A and B are subsets of G with positive Banach density, then the product set AB is piecewise syndetic. This means that there is a finite subset E of G such that EAB is thick, that is, EAB contains translates of any finite subset of G . When G = ℤ, this was first proven by R. Jin. We prove a quantitative version of the aforementioned result by providing a lower bound on the density (with respect to a Følner sequence) of the set of witnesses to the thickness of EAB . When G = ℤ d , this result was first proven by the current set of authors using completely different techniques.

Abstract In this note, we show that the theory of tracial von Neumann algebras does not have a model companion. This will follow from the fact that the theory of any locally universal, McDuff II1 factor does not have quantifier elimination. We also show how a positive solution to the Connes Embedding Problem implies that there can be no model-complete theory of II1 factors.

Abstract We study thorn forking and rosiness in the context of continuous logic. We prove that the Urysohn sphere is rosy (with respect to finitary imaginaries), providing the first example of an essentially continuous unstable theory with a nice notion of independence. In the process, we show that a real rosy theory which has weak elimination of finitary imaginaries is rosy with respect to finitary imaginaries, a fact which is new even for discrete first-order real rosy theories.