Algebraic Characterizations of Complexity-Theoretic Classes of Real Functions

Recursive analysis is the most classical approach to model and discuss computations over the reals. It is usually presented using Type 2 or higher order Turing machines. Recently, it has been shown that computability classes of functions computable in recursive analysis can also be defined (or characterized) in an algebraic machine independent way, without resorting to Turing machines. In particular nice connections between the class of computable functions (and some of its sub- and sup-classes) over the reals and algebraically defined (sub- and sup-) classes of $\R$-recursive functions à la Moore 96 have been obtained. However, until now, this has been done only at the computability level, and not at the complexity level. In this paper we provide a framework that allows us to dive into the complexity level of functions over the reals. In particular we provide the first algebraic characterization of polynomial time computable functions over the reals. This framework opens the field of implicit complexity of functions over the reals, and also provide a new reading of some of the existing characterizations at the computability level

Algebraic Characterizations of Complexity-Theoretic Classes of Real Functions

Recursive analysis is the most classical approach to model and discuss computations over the reals. It is usually presented using Type 2 or higher order Turing machines. Recently, it has been shown that computability classes of functions computable in recursive analysis can also be defined (or characterized) in an algebraic machine independent way, without resorting to Turing machines. In particular nice connections between the class of computable functions (and some of its sub- and sup-classes) over the reals and algebraically defined (sub- and sup-) classes of $\R$-recursive functions à la Moore 96 have been obtained. However, until now, this has been done only at the computability level, and not at the complexity level. In this paper we provide a framework that allows us to dive into the complexity level of functions over the reals. In particular we provide the first algebraic characterization of polynomial time computable functions over the reals. This framework opens the field of implicit complexity of functions over the reals, and also provide a new reading of some of the existing characterizations at the computability level

Characterizing Polynomial Time Computability of Rational and Real Functions

Recursive analysis was introduced by A. Turing [1936], A. Grzegorczyk [1955], and D. Lacombe [1955]. It is based on a discrete mechanical framework that can be used to model computation over the real numbers. In this context the computational complexity of real functions defined over compact domains has been extensively studied. However, much less have been done for other kinds of real functions. This article is divided into two main parts. The first part investigates polynomial time computability of rational functions and the role of continuity in such computation. On the one hand this is interesting for its own sake. On the other hand it provides insights into polynomial time computability of real functions for the latter, in the sense of recursive analysis, is modeled as approximations of rational computations. The main conclusion of this part is that continuity does not play any role in the efficiency of computing rational functions. The second part defines polynomial time computability of arbitrary real functions, characterizes it, and compares it with the corresponding notion over rational functions. Assuming continuity, the main conclusion is that there is a conceptual difference between polynomial time computation over the rationals and the reals manifested by the fact that there are polynomial time computable rational functions whose extensions to the reals are not polynomial time computable and vice versa