Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 ii Paper 1 4F Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The S-m-n theorem states that for every there is a total computable function satisfyingwhenever either side is defined.
Suppose first that is recursively enumerable. Choose a program that halts exactly on inputs in , and let index a two-variable program that, on , ignores and runs that program on . By the S-m-n theorem,is total computable and indexes the unary functionThereforeThus .
Conversely, suppose through a total computable . On input , compute and simulate machine on its own code. This procedure halts exactly when , equivalently exactly when . Hence is recursively enumerable. We have proved the many-one completeness of the halting problem: