Turing jumps through provability

Fixing some computably enumerable theory $T$, the Friedman-Goldfarb-Harrington (FGH) theorem says that over elementary arithmetic, each $\Sigma_1$ formula is equivalent to some formula of the form $\Box_T \varphi$ provided that $T$ is consistent. In this paper we give various generalizations of the FGH theorem. In particular, for $n>1$ we relate $\Sigma_{n}$ formulas to provability statements $[n]_T^{\sf True}\varphi$ which are a formalization of "provable in $T$ together with all true $\Sigma_{n+1}$ sentences". As a corollary we conclude that each $[n]_T^{\sf True}$ is $\Sigma_{n+1}$-complete. This observation yields us to consider a recursively defined hierarchy of provability predicates $[n+1]^\Box_T$ which look a lot like $[n+1]_T^{\sf True}$ except that where $[n+1]_T^{\sf True}$ calls upon the oracle of all true $\Sigma_{n+2}$ sentences, the $[n+1]^\Box_T$ recursively calls upon the oracle of all true sentences of the form $\langle n \rangle_T^\Box\phi$. As such we obtain a `syntax-light' characterization of $\Sigma_{n+1}$ definability whence of Turing jumps which is readily extended beyond the finite. Moreover, we observe that the corresponding provability predicates $[n+1]_T^\Box$ are well behaved in that together they provide a sound interpretation of the polymodal provability logic ${\sf GLP}_\omega$

Turing-Taylor expansions for arithmetic theories

Turing progressions have been often used to measure the proof-theoretic strength of mathematical theories. Turing progressions based on $n$-provability give rise to a $\Pi_{n+1}$ proof-theoretic ordinal. As such, to each theory $U$ we can assign the sequence of corresponding $\Pi_{n+1}$ ordinals $\langle |U|_n\rangle_{n>0}$. We call this sequence a \emph{Turing-Taylor expansion} of a theory. In this paper, we relate Turing-Taylor expansions of sub-theories of Peano Arithmetic to Ignatiev's universal model for the closed fragment of the polymodal provability logic ${\mathbf{GLP}}_\omega$. In particular, in this first draft we observe that each point in the Ignatiev model can be seen as Turing-Taylor expansions of formal mathematical theories. Moreover, each sub-theory of Peano Arithmetic that allows for a Turing-Taylor expression will define a unique point in Ignatiev's model.Comment: First draf

Levelable Sets and the Algebraic Structure of Parameterizations

Asking which sets are fixed-parameter tractable for a given parameterization constitutes much of the current research in parameterized complexity theory. This approach faces some of the core difficulties in complexity theory. By focussing instead on the parameterizations that make a given set fixed-parameter tractable, we circumvent these difficulties. We isolate parameterizations as independent measures of complexity and study their underlying algebraic structure. Thus we are able to compare parameterizations, which establishes a hierarchy of complexity that is much stronger than that present in typical parameterized algorithms races. Among other results, we find that no practically fixed-parameter tractable sets have optimal parameterizations

Open questions about Ramsey-type statements in reverse mathematics

Ramsey's theorem states that for any coloring of the n-element subsets of N with finitely many colors, there is an infinite set H such that all n-element subsets of H have the same color. The strength of consequences of Ramsey's theorem has been extensively studied in reverse mathematics and under various reducibilities, namely, computable reducibility and uniform reducibility. Our understanding of the combinatorics of Ramsey's theorem and its consequences has been greatly improved over the past decades. In this paper, we state some questions which naturally arose during this study. The inability to answer those questions reveals some gaps in our understanding of the combinatorics of Ramsey's theorem.Comment: 15 page

Restricted Positive Quantification Is Not Elementary

We show that a restricted variant of constructive predicate logic with positive (covariant) quantification is of super-elementary complexity. The restriction is to limit the number of eigenvariables used in quantifier introductions rules to a reasonably usable level. This construction suggests that the known non-elementary decision algorithms for positive logic may actually be best possible