Abstract not found

. We give a decision procedure for the 89-theory of the weak truthtable (wtt) degrees of the recursively enumerable sets. The key to this decision procedure is a characterization of the finite lattices which can be embedded into the r.e. wtt-degrees by a map which preserves the least and greatest elements: A finite lattice has such an embedding if and only if it is distributive and the ideal generated by its cappable elements and the filter generated by its cuppable elements are disjoint. We formulate general criteria that allow one to conclude that a distributive upper semi-lattice has a decidable two-quantifier theory. These criteria are applied not only to the weak truth-table degrees of the recursively enumerable sets but also to various substructures of the polynomial many-one (pm) degrees of the recursive sets. These applications to the pm degrees require no new complexity-theoretic results. The fact that the pm-degrees of the recursive sets have a decidable two-quantifier theor...

$1. Introduction. The occasion of a retiring presidential address seems like a time to look back, take stock and perhaps look ahead.

Abstract The three quantifier theory of (R; ^T), the recursively enumerable degrees under Turing reducibility, was proven undecidable by Lempp, Nies and Slaman [1998]. The two quantifier theory includes the lattice embedding problem and its decidability is a long standing open question. A negative solution to this problem seems out of reach of the standard methods of interpretation of theories because the language is relational. We prove the undecidability of a fragment of the theory of R that lies between the two and three quantifier theories with ^T but includes function symbols.