English

Recognizable sets and Woodin cardinals: Computation beyond the constructible universe

Logic 2026-05-19 v1

Abstract

We call a subset of an ordinal λ\lambda recognizable if it is the unique subset xx of λ\lambda for which some Turing machine with ordinal time and tape, which halts for all subsets of λ\lambda as input, halts with the final state 00. Equivalently, such a set is the unique subset xx which satisfies a given Σ1\Sigma_1 formula in L[x]L[x]. We prove several results about sets of ordinals recognizable from ordinal parameters by ordinal time Turing machines. Notably we show the following results from large cardinals. (1) Computable sets are elements of LL, while recognizable objects with infinite time computations appear up to the level of Woodin cardinals. (2) A subset of a countable ordinal λ\lambda is in the recognizable closure for subsets of λ\lambda if and only if it is an element of MM^{\infty}, where MM^{\infty} denotes the inner model obtained by iterating the least measure of M1M_1 through the ordinals, and where the recognizable closure for subsets of λ\lambda is defined by closing under relative recognizability for subsets of λ\lambda.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1512.06101,
  title  = {Recognizable sets and Woodin cardinals: Computation beyond the constructible universe},
  author = {Merlin Carl and Philipp Schlicht and Philip Welch},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1512.06101},
  year   = {2026}
}