English

A new introduction rule for disjunction

Logic in Computer Science 2025-10-23 v2

Abstract

We extend Natural Deduction for intuitionistic logic with a third introduction rule for the disjunction, \vee-i3, with a conclusion ΓAB\Gamma\vdash A\vee B, but both premises ΓA\Gamma\vdash A and ΓB\Gamma\vdash B. This rule is admissible in Natural Deduction. This extension is interesting in several respects. First, it permits to solve a well-known problem in logics with interstitial rules that have a weak introduction property: closed cut-free proofs end with an introduction rule, except in the case of disjunctions. With this new introduction rule, we recover the strong introduction property: closed cut-free proofs always end with an introduction. Second, the termination proof of this proof system is simpler than that of the usual propositional Natural Deduction with interstitial rules, as it does not require the use of the so-called ultra-reduction rules. Third, this proof system, in its linear version, has applications to quantum computing: the \vee-i3 rule enables the expression of quantum measurement, without the cost of introducing a new connective. Finally, even in logics without interstitial rules, the rule \vee-i3 is useful to reduce commuting cuts, although, in this paper, we leave the termination of such reduction as an open problem.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2502.19172,
  title  = {A new introduction rule for disjunction},
  author = {Alejandro Díaz-Caro and Gilles Dowek},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2502.19172},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

34 pages + references and appendix

R2 v1 2026-06-28T21:58:45.176Z