We describe first-order logic elementary embeddings in a torsion-free hyperbolic group in terms of Sela’s hyperbolic towers. Thus, if $H$ embeds elementarily in a torsion free hyperbolic group $\Gamma$, we show that the group $\Gamma$ can be obtained by successive amalgamations of groups of surfaces with boundary to a free product of $H$ with some free group and groups of closed surfaces. This gives as a corollary that an elementary subgroup of a finitely generated free group is a free factor. We also consider the...

We examine the properties of existentially closed (${}^{\omega }$-embeddable) II₁ factors. In particular, we use the fact that every automorphism of an existentially closed (${}^{\omega }$-embeddable) II₁ factor is approximately inner to prove that Th() is not model-complete. We also show that Th() is complete for both finite and infinite forcing and use the latter result to prove that there exist continuum many nonisomorphic existentially closed models of Th().