Generalized Hex and logical characterizations of polynomial space

Abstract

We answer a question posed by Makowsky and Pnueli and show that the logic $(\pm\mbox{HEX})^\ast[\mbox{FO}_s]$, where HEX is the operator (i.e., uniform sequence of Lindstr\"om quantifiers) corresponding to the well-known {\bf PSPACE}-complete decision problem Generalized Hex, collapses to the fragment $\mbox{HEX}^1[\mbox{FO}_s]$ and, moreover, that this logic has a particular normal form which results in the problem HEX being complete for {\bf PSPACE} via quantifier-free projections with successor (HEX is the first ``natural'' problem to be shown to have this property). Our proof of this normal form result is remarkably similar to Immerman's original proof that transitive closure logic, $(\pm\mbox{TC})^\ast[\mbox{FO}_s]$, has such a normal form; which is surprising given that $(\pm\mbox{HEX})^\ast[\mbox{FO}_s]$ captures {\bf PSPACE} and $(\pm\mbox{TC})^\ast[\mbox{FO}_s]$ captures {\bf NL}. We also show that $(\pm\mbox{HEX})^\ast[\mbox{FO}]$ does not capture {\bf PSPACE} and that this logic does not have a corresponding normal form.