Aldous–Lyons-type characterization of finite-graph limits

Let L\mathbf L be a modeling. Assume: (i) the theory of L\mathbf L has the finite model property; (ii) every interpretation of L\mathbf L satisfies the finitary mass transport principle, namely, for first-order formulas α,β,γ\alpha,\beta,\gamma satisfying

α(x)(y1yb)i=1b(γ(yi,x)β(yi)i<jb(yiyj))\alpha(x)\vdash (\exists y_1\dots y_b)\,\bigwedge_{i=1}^b \Bigl(\gamma(y_i,x)\wedge\beta(y_i)\wedge\bigwedge_{i<j\leq b}(y_i\neq y_j)\Bigr) β(x)¬(y1ya+1)i=1a+1(γ(x,yi)α(yi)i<ja+1(yiyj)),\beta(x)\vdash \neg(\exists y_1\dots y_{a+1})\,\bigwedge_{i=1}^{a+1} \Bigl(\gamma(x,y_i)\wedge\alpha(y_i)\wedge\bigwedge_{i<j\leq a+1}(y_i\neq y_j)\Bigr),

one has

bα,Laβ,L;b\,\langle\alpha,\mathbf L\rangle\leq a\,\langle\beta,\mathbf L\rangle;

and (iii) for every integer dd there is an integer NN such that L\mathbf L does not contain the dd-th subdivision of KNK_N. Aldous–Lyons-type conjecture. Under these assumptions, L\mathbf L is the FO-limit of a sequence of finite graphs. This is proposed as a generalization of the Aldous–Lyons conjecture; the supplied text does not state that it has been proved or refuted.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

J. Nesetril and P. Ossona de Mendez, “Existence of Modeling Limits for Sequences of Sparse Structures”, arXiv:1608.00146 (2026).

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