Related papers: Notes on proof by dichotomy
A proof procedure, in the spirit of the sequent calculus, is proposed to check the validity of entailments between Separation Logic formulas combining inductively defined predicates denoted structures of bounded tree width and theory…
This document presents an alternative proof of Sylvester's theorem stating that "the product of $n$ consecutive numbers strictly greater than $n$ is divisible by a prime strictly greater than $n$". In addition, the paper proposes stronger…
We design a proof system for propositional classical logic that integrates two languages for Boolean functions: standard conjunction-disjunction-negation and binary decision trees. We give two reasons to do so. The first is…
We explore the application of automated reasoning techniques to unknot detection, a classical problem of computational topology. We adopt a two-pronged experimental approach, using a theorem prover to try to establish a positive result…
In this note, we give an alternate proof of the multinomial theorem using a probabilistic approach. Although the multinomial theorem is basically a combinatorial result, our proof may be simpler for a student familiar with only basic…
The proof identity problem asks: When are two proofs the same? The question naturally occurs when one reflects on mathematical practice. The problem understandably can be seen as a challenge for mathematical logic, and indeed various…
This paper presents an alternative proof of the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra that has several distinct advantages. The proof is based on simple ideas involving continuity and differentiation. Visual software demonstrations can be used to…
Mathematical proofs are both paradigms of certainty and some of the most explicitly-justified arguments that we have in the cultural record. Their very explicitness, however, leads to a paradox, because the probability of error grows…
We give a procedure for counting the number of different proofs of a formula in various sorts of propositional logic. This number is either an integer (that may be 0 if the formula is not provable) or infinite.
It is well known that the resolution method (for propositional logic) is complete. However, completeness proofs found in the literature use an argument by contradiction showing that if a set of clauses is unsatisfiable, then it must have a…
Algorithms can be used to prove and to discover new theorems. This paper shows how algorithmic skills in general, and the notion of invariance in particular, can be used to derive many results from Euclid's algorithm. We illustrate how to…
Uniform proofs are sequent calculus proofs with the following characteristic: the last step in the derivation of a complex formula at any stage in the proof is always the introduction of the top-level logical symbol of that formula. We…
We call positive integer n a near-perfect number, if it is sum of all its proper divisors, except of one of them ("redundant divisor"). We prove an Euclid-like theorem for near-perfect numbers and obtain some other results for them.
A derangement is a permutation with no fixed point, and a nonderangement is a permutation with at least one fixed point. There is a one-term recurrence for the number of derangements of $n$ elements, and we describe a bijective proof of…
In this paper we propose a new perspective on the evolution and history of the idea of mathematical proof. Proofs will be studied at three levels: syntactical, semantical and pragmatical. Computer-assisted proofs will be give a special…
We describe a prototype theorem prover, UTP2, developed to match the style of hand-written proof work in the Unifying Theories of Programming semantical framework. This is based on alphabetised predicates in a 2nd-order logic, with a strong…
In a recent paper, Amini et al. introduce a general framework to prove duality theorems between special decompositions and their dual combinatorial object. They thus unify all known ad-hoc proofs in one single theorem. While this…
This short note describes a method to tackle the (bipartite) quantum separability problem. The method can be used for solving the separability problem in an experimental setting as well as in the purely mathematical setting. The idea is to…
A central problem in proof-theory is that of finding criteria for identity of proofs, that is, for when two distinct formal derivations can be taken as denoting the same logical argument. In the literature one finds criteria which are…
To cater to the needs of (Zero Knowledge) proofs for (mathematical) proofs, we describe a method to transform formal sentences in 2x2-matrices over multivariate polynomials with integer coefficients, such that usual proof-steps like…