Related papers: On the difficulty of proving P equals NP in ZFC
We present a coherent collection of finite mathematical theorems some of which can only be proved by going well beyond the usual axioms for mathematics. The proofs of these theorems illustrate in clear terms how one uses the well studied…
We introduce exacting cardinals and a strengthening of these, ultraexacting cardinals. These are natural large cardinals defined equivalently as weak forms of rank-Berkeley cardinals, strong forms of J\'onsson cardinals, or in terms of…
Over the course of the last 50 years, many questions in the field of computability were left surprisingly unanswered. One example is the question of $P$ vs $NP\cap co-NP$. It could be phrased in loose terms as "If a person has the ability…
Starting from large cardinals we construct a model of $ZFC$ in which the $GCH$ fails everywhere, but such that $GCH$ holds in its $HOD$. The result answers a question of Sy Friedman. Also, relative to the existence of large cardinals, we…
If L is an order polynomially complete lattice, (that is: every monotone function from L^n to L is induced by a lattice-theoretic polynomial) then the cardinality of L is a strongly inaccessible cardinal. In particular, the existence of…
Treating a conjecture, P^#P != NP, on the separation of complexity classes as an axiom, an implication is found in three manifold topology with little obvious connection to complexity theory. This is reminiscent of Harvey Friedman's work on…
Our main result, Theorem 2.5, shows the existence of a vast infinity of subset sum problems solvable in polynomial time. The only proof we have of this result uses the ZFC independent Jump Free Theorem of Harvey Friedman, thus putting…
There is no single canonical polynomial-time version of the Axiom of Choice (AC); several statements of AC that are equivalent in Zermelo-Fraenkel (ZF) set theory are already inequivalent from a constructive point of view, and are similarly…
The theory ZFC implies the scheme that for every cardinal $\delta$ we can make $\delta$ many dependent choices over any definable relation without terminal nodes. Friedman, the first author, and Kanovei constructed a model of ZFC$^-$ (ZFC…
Our main result, Theorem 3.3, uses Friedman's Jump Free Theorem, Theorem 2.7, which he has shown to be independent of ZFC, the usual axioms of set theory. We conjecture that Theorem 3.3, a straight forward translation of the statement of…
In other work we have outlined how, building on ideas of Welch and Roberts, one can motivate believing in the existence of supercompact cardinals. After making this observation we strove to formulate a justification for large-cardinal…
Exacting and ultraexacting cardinals are large cardinal numbers compatible with the Zermelo-Fraenkel axioms of set theory, including the Axiom of Choice. In contrast with standard large cardinal notions, their existence implies that the…
This paper exposes a contradiction in the Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory with the axiom of choice (ZFC). While Godel's incompleteness theorems state that a consistent system cannot prove its consistency, they do not eliminate proofs using a…
In this paper, we consider certain cardinals in ZF (set theory without AC, the Axiom of Choice). In ZFC (set theory with AC), given any cardinals C and D, either C <= D or D <= C. However, in ZF this is no longer so. For a given infinite…
${ NP}$-complete problem "Hamiltonian cycle"\ for graph $G=(V,E)$ is extended to the "Hamiltonian Complement of the Graph"\ problem of finding the minimal cardinality set $H$ containing additional edges so that graph $G=(V,E\cup H)$ is…
We argue against Foreman's proposal to settle the continuum hypothesis and other classical independent questions via the adoption of generic large cardinal axioms.
This paper develops a rich theory of cardinality in the paraconsistent and paracomplete set theory $\mathrm{BZFC}$, where sets can be inconsistent ($A$ such that ``$x\in A$'' is both true and false for some $x$) or incomplete ($A$ such that…
It is shown that graph-theoretic problem CLIQUE can't be solved in polynomial time by any deterministic TM. This upgrades the well-known partial result that claims only monotone unsolvability thereof, and eventually implies P $\neq$ NP as…
The work presents the brief exposition of the proof (in ZF) of inaccessible cardinals nonexistence. To this end in view there is used the apparatus of subinaccessible cardinals and its basic tools -- reduced formula spectra and matrices and…
We consider the average-case complexity of some otherwise undecidable or open Diophantine problems. More precisely, consider the following: (I) Given a polynomial f in Z[v,x,y], decide the sentence \exists v \forall x \exists y f(v,x,y)=0,…