The prospects for mathematical logic in the twenty-first century

The four authors present their speculations about the future developments of mathematical logic in the twenty-first century. The areas of recursion theory, proof theory and logic for computer science, model theory, and set theory are discussed independently.Comment: Association for Symbolic Logi

Constructive Algebraic Topology

The classical ``computation'' methods in Algebraic Topology most often work by means of highly infinite objects and in fact +are_not+ constructive. Typical examples are shown to describe the nature of the problem. The Rubio-Sergeraert solution for Constructive Algebraic Topology is recalled. This is not only a theoretical solution: the concrete computer program +Kenzo+ has been written down which precisely follows this method. This program has been used in various cases, opening new research subjects and producing in several cases significant results unreachable by hand. In particular the Kenzo program can compute the first homotopy groups of a simply connected +arbitrary+ simplicial set.Comment: 24 pages, background paper for a plenary talk at the EACA Congress of Tenerife, September 199

A reformulation of Hilbert's tenth problem through Quantum Mechanics

Inspired by Quantum Mechanics, we reformulate Hilbert's tenth problem in the domain of integer arithmetics into either a problem involving a set of infinitely coupled differential equations or a problem involving a Shr\"odinger propagator with some appropriate kernel. Either way, Mathematics and Physics could be combined for Hilbert's tenth problem and for the notion of effective computability

Computing Solution Operators of Boundary-value Problems for Some Linear Hyperbolic Systems of PDEs

We discuss possibilities of application of Numerical Analysis methods to proving computability, in the sense of the TTE approach, of solution operators of boundary-value problems for systems of PDEs. We prove computability of the solution operator for a symmetric hyperbolic system with computable real coefficients and dissipative boundary conditions, and of the Cauchy problem for the same system (we also prove computable dependence on the coefficients) in a cube $Q\subseteq\mathbb R^m$. Such systems describe a wide variety of physical processes (e.g. elasticity, acoustics, Maxwell equations). Moreover, many boundary-value problems for the wave equation also can be reduced to this case, thus we partially answer a question raised in Weihrauch and Zhong (2002). Compared with most of other existing methods of proving computability for PDEs, this method does not require existence of explicit solution formulas and is thus applicable to a broader class of (systems of) equations.Comment: 31 page