Bounded quantifierIn the study of formal theories in mathematical logic, bounded quantifiers (a.k.a. restricted quantifiers) are often included in a formal language in addition to the standard quantifiers "∀" and "∃". Bounded quantifiers differ from "∀" and "∃" in that bounded quantifiers restrict the range of the quantified variable. The study of bounded quantifiers is motivated by the fact that determining whether a sentence with only bounded quantifiers is true is often not as difficult as determining whether an arbitrary sentence is true.
Diagonal lemmaIn mathematical logic, the diagonal lemma (also known as diagonalization lemma, self-reference lemma or fixed point theorem) establishes the existence of self-referential sentences in certain formal theories of the natural numbers—specifically those theories that are strong enough to represent all computable functions. The sentences whose existence is secured by the diagonal lemma can then, in turn, be used to prove fundamental limitative results such as Gödel's incompleteness theorems and Tarski's undefinability theorem.
Effective methodIn logic, mathematics and computer science, especially metalogic and computability theory, an effective method or effective procedure is a procedure for solving a problem by any intuitively 'effective' means from a specific class. An effective method is sometimes also called a mechanical method or procedure. The definition of an effective method involves more than the method itself. In order for a method to be called effective, it must be considered with respect to a class of problems.
Simple setIn computability theory, a subset of the natural numbers is called simple if it is computably enumerable (c.e.) and co-infinite (i.e. its complement is infinite), but every infinite subset of its complement is not c.e.. Simple sets are examples of c.e. sets that are not computable. Simple sets were devised by Emil Leon Post in the search for a non-Turing-complete c.e. set. Whether such sets exist is known as Post's problem. Post had to prove two things in order to obtain his result: that the simple set A is not computable, and that the K, the halting problem, does not Turing-reduce to A.
Algorithmically random sequenceIntuitively, an algorithmically random sequence (or random sequence) is a sequence of binary digits that appears random to any algorithm running on a (prefix-free or not) universal Turing machine. The notion can be applied analogously to sequences on any finite alphabet (e.g. decimal digits). Random sequences are key objects of study in algorithmic information theory. As different types of algorithms are sometimes considered, ranging from algorithms with specific bounds on their running time to algorithms which may ask questions of an oracle machine, there are different notions of randomness.
Tarski's undefinability theoremTarski's undefinability theorem, stated and proved by Alfred Tarski in 1933, is an important limitative result in mathematical logic, the foundations of mathematics, and in formal semantics. Informally, the theorem states that "arithmetical truth cannot be defined in arithmetic". The theorem applies more generally to any sufficiently strong formal system, showing that truth in the standard model of the system cannot be defined within the system.
Analytical hierarchyIn mathematical logic and descriptive set theory, the analytical hierarchy is an extension of the arithmetical hierarchy. The analytical hierarchy of formulas includes formulas in the language of second-order arithmetic, which can have quantifiers over both the set of natural numbers, , and over functions from to . The analytical hierarchy of sets classifies sets by the formulas that can be used to define them; it is the lightface version of the projective hierarchy.
Μ operatorIn computability theory, the μ-operator, minimization operator, or unbounded search operator searches for the least natural number with a given property. Adding the μ-operator to the primitive recursive functions makes it possible to define all computable functions. Suppose that R(y, x1, ..., xk) is a fixed (k+1)-ary relation on the natural numbers. The μ-operator "μy", in either the unbounded or bounded form, is a "number theoretic function" defined from the natural numbers to the natural numbers.
Cantor spaceIn mathematics, a Cantor space, named for Georg Cantor, is a topological abstraction of the classical Cantor set: a topological space is a Cantor space if it is homeomorphic to the Cantor set. In set theory, the topological space 2ω is called "the" Cantor space. The Cantor set itself is a Cantor space. But the canonical example of a Cantor space is the countably infinite topological product of the discrete 2-point space {0, 1}. This is usually written as or 2ω (where 2 denotes the 2-element set {0,1} with the discrete topology).
Primitive recursive arithmeticPrimitive recursive arithmetic (PRA) is a quantifier-free formalization of the natural numbers. It was first proposed by Norwegian mathematician , as a formalization of his finitistic conception of the foundations of arithmetic, and it is widely agreed that all reasoning of PRA is finitistic. Many also believe that all of finitism is captured by PRA, but others believe finitism can be extended to forms of recursion beyond primitive recursion, up to ε0, which is the proof-theoretic ordinal of Peano arithmetic.
