Search arXivSearch

arXiv · 1308.6399

Coding Methods in Computability Theory and Complexity Theory

Abstract

A major part of computability theory focuses on the analysis of a few structures of central importance. As a tool, the method of coding with first-order formulas has been applied with great success. For instance, in the c.e. Turing degrees, it has been used to determine the complexity of the elementary theory, to provide restrictions on automorphisms, and even to obtain definability results (work of Harrington, Nies, Shore, Slaman, and others). We describe how a similar program can be carried out for several other structures, including the structure of c.e. many one degrees, the structure of c.e. weak truth table degrees and the lattice of c.e. sets under inclusion. In all cases we will obtain undecidability of, or even an interpretation of true arithmetic in the theory of the structure. For the c.e. many one-degrees, we also obtain definability results and restrictions on automorphisms. This work appeared first as the author's habilitation thesis at the Universitaet Heidelberg, 1998.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Andre Nies. 2013-08-29. Coding Methods in Computability Theory and Complexity Theory. https://arxiv.org/abs/1308.6399

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

Pointwise provable equality and the failure of composition

Montagna (1989) and Di Paola--Montagna (1991) claim that the algebraic systems $S'$ and $S'_T$, respectively, are categories. We show that the proposed composition is not independent of the choice of representatives. For every consistent recursively enumerable extension $T$ of Peano arithmetic ($\mathrm{PA}$), we exhibit two program indices that are pointwise provably equal in $T$ but yield inequivalent composites when each is run after the same program. Montagna's $S'$ is the case $T=\mathrm{PA}$. The failure already occurs for partial maps from $ω$ to itself. Weak totality and the proposed range assignment also depend on the choice of representatives. More generally, for consistent $T\supseteq\mathrm{PA}$, pointwise provable equality is a composition congruence exactly when $T$ proves every true $Π^0_1$ sentence, in which case it is extensional equality. This completeness condition fails for every consistent recursively enumerable $T\supseteq\mathrm{PA}$ by Gödel's second incompleteness theorem. For every extension $T\supseteq\mathrm{PA}$, the least composition congruence containing pointwise provable equality is extensional equality if $T$ is $Σ^0_1$-sound and the universal relation otherwise.

math.LO

Natural Term Logic

In this paper we develop a formal system called Natural Term Logic (NTL). NTL aims to represent key aspects of the logical and grammatical mechanisms of natural language as well as grammatical transformations which preserve core logical meaning. NTL can be seen as a refinement of the ideas of Quine's paper `Variables Explained Away' and the technical concepts introduced by Bealer and Zalta. NTL is more fine-grained than Bealer's first-order intensional logic (BL): there is a many-to-one correspondence $ν$ between NTL terms and closed BL terms as well as a canonical map $β$ which assigns to each closed BL term a corresponding NTL term. The map $ν$ can be seen as assigning a core logical content of the NTL term. We define a series of reductions on NTL terms which intuitivelyy speaking capture meaning-preserving syntactic transformations ( transformations which preserved the basic logical meaning of a term) and our main result is that each NTL term $T$ reduces to a unique normal term $N$. The reductions fall into the structural, predicative and pushing-in categories. Predicative reductions decompose NTL terms so that predication is only applied to a primitive term (such terms are called prenormal). A key ingredient in the proof is the fact that $βνN = N$ when $N$ is normal. This suggests that within NTL the normal form of a term expresses the core logical content of the term.

math.LO

Hyper-hyperfiniteness and complexity

We show that if there exists a countable Borel equivalence relation which is hyper-hyperfinite but not hyperfinite, then the complexity of hyperfinite countable Borel equivalence relationsis as high as possible, namely, $Σ^1_2$-complete. We also establish an implication between the question of the effectivity of hyperfiniteness and its complexity.

math.LO