Incomparable prime ideals of recursively enumerable degrees (Q688789)

The author establishes that the upper-semilattice \(({\mathbf R},\leq)\) of recursively enumerable degrees contains an infinite antichain of prime ideals. This can be viewed as strong lattice-theoretical strengthening of the Friedberg-Muchnik theorem. The construction is an infinite injury one, but presented roughly, via Harrington's method of workers. The paper begins with a discussion of this method.