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Reverse Mathematics Carl Mummert Communicated by Daniel J B OOKREVIEW Reverse Mathematics Carl Mummert Communicated by Daniel J. Velleman the theorem at hand? This question is a central motiva- Reverse Mathematics: Proofs from the Inside Out tion of the field of reverse mathematics in mathematical By John Stillwell logic. Princeton University Press Mathematicians have long investigated the problem Hardcover, 200 pages ISBN: 978-1-4008-8903-7 of the Parallel Postulate in geometry: which theorems require it, and which can be proved without it? Analo- gous questions arose about the Axiom of Choice: which There are several monographs on aspects of reverse math- theorems genuinely require the Axiom of Choice for their ematics, but none can be described as a “general audi- proofs? ence” text. Simpson’s Subsystems of Second Order Arith- In each of these cases, it is easy to see the importance metic [3], rightly regarded as a classic, makes substantial of the background theory. After all, what use is it to prove assumptions about the reader’s background in mathemat- a theorem “without the Axiom of Choice” if the proof ical logic. Hirschfeldt’s Slicing the Truth [2] is more ac- uses some other axiom that already implies the Axiom cessible but also makes assumptions beyond an upper- of Choice? To address the question of necessity, we must level undergraduate background and focuses more specif- begin by specifying a precise set of background axioms— ically on combinatorics. The field has been due for a gen- our base theory. This allows us to answer the question of eral treatment accessible to undergraduates and to math- whether an additional axiom is necessary for a particular ematicians in other areas looking for an easily compre- hensible introduction to the field. proof, as follows. With Reverse Mathematics: Proofs from the Inside Suppose we find that a Out [5], John Stillwell provides exactly that kind of intro- When a theorem 푇 is provable from duction. The book is aimed at upper-level undergraduates our base theory together and professional mathematicians who are interested in theorem is with an additional axiom 퐴 the details of arithmetization and in seeing several ex- that is not provable in the amples of the methods used in reverse mathematics but proved from base theory. To show that 퐴 who do not have previous knowledge of mathematical is necessary, we can try to logic or computability theory. the right prove a reversal: we assume 푇 as if it were an axiom, to- When Is an Axiom Necessary? axioms, the gether with our base theory, Sometimes, when we prove a mathematical theorem, ev- axioms can be and prove 퐴 as if it were a ery step in the proof seems to be somehow required by theorem. If we can do this, the theorem at hand. Other times, we look at a particular proved from we have shown that 퐴 and step with skepticism. Have we used a sledgehammer to 푇 are equivalent, relative to drive a nail, applying a very strong theorem to a problem the base theory. Moreover, the theorem. ′ that could be solved with simpler means? Are the tech- any other axiom 퐴 which al- niques used in the proof genuinely necessary to obtain lows us to prove 푇 over our base theory would also allow us to prove 퐴. The reversal Carl Mummert is associate professor of mathematics at Marshall shows that 퐴 is, in a precise sense, the weakest axiom that, University. His email address is [email protected]. together with the base theory, allows us to prove 푇. For permission to reprint this article, please contact: Many results of this kind have been obtained. For [email protected]. example, the Parallel Postulate is equivalent to Playfair’s DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1090/noti1732 axiom in absolute geometry, and in topology the Axiom 1098 Notices of the AMS Volume 65, Number 9 BOOK REVIEW Work of Weyl, Hilbert and Bernays, and Feferman showed that much of elementary real analysis can be studied in second-order arithmetic via arithmetization, in which more complicated objects are represented—coded—as numbers or sets of numbers. For example, an in- teger can be coded as a pair of natural num- Which axioms are bers with the correct difference, and a rational required to prove number can be coded as the theorems of a pair of integers with the correct ratio. A real everyday number can be coded as a Cauchy sequence of ra- mathematics? tional numbers, perhaps with a fixed rate of convergence. By using more complex coding systems, we can also represent ℝ푛 for each 푛, open subsets of ℝ, and continuous functions from ℝ푛 to ℝ푚. Algebraic structures such as countable groups and fields and countable vector spaces over countable fields can also be coded into sets of natural numbers. In combinatorics, countable graphs and countable parti- tions of countable sets can be formalized directly into Figure 1. Harvey Friedman proposed the program of second-order arithmetic. reverse mathematics at the 1974 International Not everything can be coded this way. Second-order Congress of Mathematicians. arithmetic is not able to talk about arbitrary subsets of ℝ nor about objects of very high cardinality. In this way, it is more suitable for “ordinary” theorems that talk about of Choice is equivalent to Tychonoff’s theorem over countable algebraic objects or complete separable metric Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory. spaces. Reverse mathematics studies the strength of everyday There are several motivations for using second-order mathematical theorems in this way. At the 1974 Interna- arithmetic. It is a concrete and relatively weak founda- tional Congress of Mathematicians Harvey Friedman [1] tional system, and the provability of ordinary mathemati- (see Figure 1) laid out the founding vision for this pro- cal theorems in this setting shows that stronger systems gram: “When a theorem is proved from the right axioms, such as set theory or topos theory are not required for the axioms can be proved from the theorem.” The key to this analysis is to choose a base system strong enough to formalize the theorems we want to study but not so strong that it proves those theorems outright. Friedman proposed using specific base theories from second-order arithmetic instead of geometry or set theory. Equally im- portantly, he proposed looking at fundamental theorems of mathematics—results such as the Bolzano–Weierstrass theorem in calculus—rather than more esoteric theorems in set theory or topology. Stephen Simpson [3] (Figure 2) rephrased the main question as: “Which set existence axioms are required to prove the theorems of everyday, non-set-theoretic mathematics?” In many cases, the required axioms turn out to be very modest. Second-Order Arithmetic Second-order arithmetic is a family of formal systems for studying the natural numbers, real numbers, and Figure 2. Stephen Simpson has proved many key many other basic mathematical objects. It takes as given results in reverse mathematics. His monograph only two fundamental types of objects: “numbers,” which Subsystems of Second Order Arithmetic [3] is the are intended to represent natural numbers, and “sets,” standard graduate-level reference text. which are intended to represent sets of natural numbers. October 2018 Notices of the AMS 1099 BOOK REVIEW these theorems. Another motivation is the close relation- ACA0 ship between second-order arithmetic and computability theory. This relationship is one of the keys to the suc- cess of reverse mathematics: by working in second-order arithmetic, we can use a powerful toolbox of methods 2 from computability theory to study theorems that, at first WKL0 RT2 glance, seem unrelated to computation. Subsystems of Second-Order Arithmetic Subsystems of second-order arithmetic are simply axiom 2 systems for second-order arithmetic which can have vary- COH SRT2 ing levels of strength. Following tradition, subsystems are often named with short acronyms, many of which have subscripts or superscripts indicating particular vari- ations. The weakest subsystem usually encountered is known as RCA0. It has axioms saying that ℕ is a discrete ordered semiring and a set of relatively weak induction axioms. RCA0 also has set existence axioms which say, RCA0 essentially, that if we have sets 퐵 , … , 퐵 and a set 퐴 is 1 푘 Figure 3. Relationships between six subsystems. Turing computable from these sets, then the set 퐴 must 2 WKL0 and RT2 form an incomparable pair below ACA0. exist. The acronym “RCA” stands for “recursive compre- 2 RT2 itself can be split into two strictly weaker hension axiom,” where “recursive” is used as a synonym 2 systems, COH and SRT2, which together are of “computable.” 2 푀 equivalent to RT . A model 푀 of RCA0 consists of a set of numbers ℕ , 2 which may or may not be the ordinary natural numbers, and a collection of subsets of ℕ푀. Crucially, we do not 푀 require that all subsets of ℕ must be included. Instead, There are many subsystems between RCA0 and ACA0. we rely on the set existence axioms to know that partic- One of these, WKL0, is named after a weak form of König’s ular sets will be included in the model, that is, to know lemma and is related to several theorems of analysis and 2 they will “exist.” Allowing the model to contain only some countable algebra. A second, RT2, is a fragment of the subsets of ℕ푀 also avoids the standard proof that all mod- infinite version of Ramsey’s theorem. These systems are els of Peano’s axioms are isomorphic, because that proof incomparable: neither proves the axioms of the other over 2 requires quantifying over all subsets. RCA0. Moreover, RT2 can be split into a “cohesive set” 2 The standard model of second-order arithmetic con- principle COH and a “stable version” SRT2.
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