The combinatorics of the splitting theorem

Abstract

The complexity of priority proofs in recursion theory has been growing since the first priority proofs in [1] and [11]. Refined versions of classic priority proofs can be found in [18]. To this date, this part of recursion theory is at about the same stage of development as real analysis was in the early days, when the notions of topology, continuity, compactness, vector space, inner product space, etc., were not invented. There were no general theorems involving these concepts to prove results about the real numbers and the proofs were repetitive and lengthy.The priority method contains an unprecedent wealth of combinatorics which is used to answer questions in recursion theory and is bound to have applications in many other fields as well. Unfortunately, very little progress has been made in finding theorems to formulate the combinatorial part of the priority method so as to answer questions without having to reprove the combinatorics in each case.Lempp and Lerman in [10] provide an overview of the subject. The entire edifice of definitions and theorems which formulate the combinatorics of the priority method has acquired the name Priority Theory. From a different vein, Groszek and Slaman in [2] have initiated a program to classify priority constructions in terms of how much induction or collection is needed to carry them out. This program studies the complexity of priority proofs and can be called Complexity Theory of Priority Proofs or simply Complexity.