Myhill isomorphism theorem
In computability theory the Myhill isomorphism theorem, named after John Myhill, provides a characterization for two numberings to induce the same notion of computability on a set.
Theorem
Definitions
Sets A and B of natural numbers are said to be recursively isomorphic if there is a total computable bijective function f on the natural numbers such that for any , .[1]
A set A of natural numbers is said to be one-one reducible to a set B if there is a total computable injective function f on the natural numbers such that and .
Stetement
Myhill's isomorphism theorem states that two sets A and B of natural numbers are recursively isomorphic if and only if A is one-reducible to B and B is one-reducible to A.
Corollaries
Two total numberings are one-equivalent if and only if they are recursively isomorphic.
Discussion
The theorem implies that given two injective reductions in opposing directions, there is a computable bijection on the naturals that puts the sets in question in bijective correspondence. This is reminiscent of the Schröder–Bernstein theorem about general sets, and Myhill's theorem has been called a constructive version of it.[2] Their proofs are however different. The proof of Schröder-Bernstein uses the inverses of the two injections, which is impossible in the setting of the Myhill theorem since these inverses might not be recursive. The proof of the Myhill theorem, on the other hand, defines the bijection inductively, which is impossible in the setting of Schröder-Bernstein unless one uses the Axiom of Choice (which is not necessary for the proof of the Myhill theorem).
See also
- Berman–Hartmanis conjecture, an analogous statement in computational complexity theory
References
- P. Odifreddi, Classical Recursion Theory: The theory of functions and sets of natural numbers (pp.324--325). Studies in Logic and the Foundations of Mathematics, vol. 125 (1989), Elsevier 0-444-87295-7.
- P. Odifreddi, Classical Recursion Theory: The theory of functions and sets of natural numbers (p.320). Studies in Logic and the Foundations of Mathematics, vol. 125 (1989), Elsevier 0-444-87295-7.
- Myhill, John (1955), "Creative sets", Zeitschrift für Mathematische Logik und Grundlagen der Mathematik, 1: 97–108, doi:10.1002/malq.19550010205, MR 0071379.
- Rogers, Hartley, Jr. (1987), Theory of recursive functions and effective computability (2nd ed.), Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, ISBN 0-262-68052-1, MR 0886890
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link). - Soare, Robert I. (1987), Recursively enumerable sets and degrees : a study of computable functions and computably generated sets, Perspectives in Mathematical Logic, Berlin Heidelberg : Springer-Verlag, ISBN 978-3-540-66681-3, MR 0882921