Recent Advances in Σ-definability over Continuous Data Types

The purpose of this paper is to survey our recent research in computability and definability over continuous data types such as the real numbers, real-valued functions and functionals. We investigate the expressive power and algorithmic properties of the language of Sigma-formulas intended to represent computability over the real numbers. In order to adequately represent computability we extend the reals by the structure of hereditarily finite sets. In this setting it is crucial to consider the real numbers without equality since the equality test is undecidable over the reals. We prove Engeler's Lemma for Sigma-definability over the reals without the equality test which relates Sigma-definability with definability in the constructive infinitary language L_{omega_1 omega}. Thus, a relation over the real numbers is Sigma-definable if and only if it is definable by a disjunction of a recursively enumerable set of quantifier free formulas. This result reveals computational aspects of Sigma-definability and also gives topological characterisation of Sigma-definable relations over the reals without the equality test. We also illustrate how computability over the real numbers can be expressed in the language of Sigma-formulas

Comparing hierarchies of total functionals

In this paper we consider two hierarchies of hereditarily total and continuous functionals over the reals based on one extensional and one intensional representation of real numbers, and we discuss under which asumptions these hierarchies coincide. This coincidense problem is equivalent to a statement about the topology of the Kleene-Kreisel continuous functionals. As a tool of independent interest, we show that the Kleene-Kreisel functionals may be embedded into both these hierarchies.Comment: 28 page

A rich hierarchy of functionals of finite types

We are considering typed hierarchies of total, continuous functionals using complete, separable metric spaces at the base types. We pay special attention to the so called Urysohn space constructed by P. Urysohn. One of the properties of the Urysohn space is that every other separable metric space can be isometrically embedded into it. We discuss why the Urysohn space may be considered as the universal model of possibly infinitary outputs of algorithms. The main result is that all our typed hierarchies may be topologically embedded, type by type, into the corresponding hierarchy over the Urysohn space. As a preparation for this, we prove an effective density theorem that is also of independent interest.Comment: 21 page

Computability and analysis: the legacy of Alan Turing

We discuss the legacy of Alan Turing and his impact on computability and analysis.Comment: 49 page