English

Descending sequences in reflection hierarchies

Logic 2025-12-08 v1

Abstract

There is no recursively enumerable sequence of sufficiently strong 2-consistent r.e. theories such that each proves the 22-consistency of the next. Montalb\'an and Shavrukov independently asked whether this result generalizes to 00'-recursive sequences. We consider a general version of this problem: For arbitrary nn, for which complexity classes Γ\Gamma are there Γ\Gamma-definable sequences of nn-consistent r.e. theories each of which proves the nn-consistency of the next? The answer to this question depends not only on nn and Γ\Gamma but also on the manner in which sequences are encoded in arithmetic. We provide positive answers for certain encodings and negative answers for others.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2512.05263,
  title  = {Descending sequences in reflection hierarchies},
  author = {Mateusz Łełyk and James Walsh},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2512.05263},
  year   = {2025}
}
R2 v1 2026-07-01T08:10:24.272Z