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Every n-generic degree is a minimal cover of an n-generic degree
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 March 2014
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The notions of forcing and generic set were introduced by Cohen in 1963 to prove the independence of the Axiom of Choice and the Continuum Hypothesis in set theory. Let ω be the set of natural numbers, i.e., {0,1,2,3,…}. A string is a mapping from an initial segment of ω into {0,1}. We identify a set A ⊆ ω to with its characteristic function.
We now consider a set generic over the arithmetic sets. A set A ⊆ ω is called n-generic if it is Cohen-generic for n-quantifier arithmetic. This is equivalent to saying that for every -set of strings S, there is a σ ⊂ A such that σ ∈ S or (∀v ≥ σ)(v ∉ S). By degree we mean Turing degree (of unsolvability). We call a degree n-generic if it has an n-generic representative. For a degree a, let D(≤a) denote the set of degrees which are recursive in a.
Before Cohen's work, there was a precursor of the notion of forcing in recursion theory. Friedberg showed that for every degree b above the complete degree 0', i.e., the degree of a complete r.e. set, there is a degree a such that a′ = a ⋃ 0′ = b. He actually proved this result by using the notion of forcing for statements.
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- Copyright © Association for Symbolic Logic 1993
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