Related papers: On inverse Goodstein sequences
Building on Buchholz' assignment for ordinals below Bachmann-Howard ordinal, see Buchholz 2003, we introduce systems of fundamental sequences for two kinds of relativized $\vartheta$-function-based notation systems of strength…
We present variants of Goodstein's theorem that are equivalent to arithmetical comprehension and to arithmetical transfinite recursion, respectively, over a weak base theory. These variants differ from the usual Goodstein theorem in that…
Goodstein sequences are numerical sequences in which a natural number m, expressed as the complete normal form to a given base a, is modified by increasing the value of the base a by one unit and subtracting one unit from the resulting…
We define a variant of the Goodstein process based on fast-growing functions and show that it terminates, but this fact is not provable in Kripke-Platek set theory or other theories of strength the Bachmann-Howard ordinal. We moreover show…
The classical Goodstein process, defined via hereditary base-$k$ exponential normal form, is a well-known example of a principle unprovable in Peano Arithmetic. In this paper, we generalize this framework by constructing a new Goodstein…
The classical Goodstein process gives rise to long but finite sequences of natural numbers whose termination is not provable in Peano arithmetic. In this manuscript we consider a variant based on the Ackermann function. We show that…
A dilator is a particularly uniform transformation $X\mapsto T_X$ of linear orders that preserves well-foundedness. We say that $X$ is a Bachmann-Howard fixed point of $T$ if there is an almost order preserving collapsing function…
In arXiv:2508.14768, a variant of Goodstein's original process was recently introduced which, given a set $B\subseteq \mathbb{N}$ of bases, writes each $n\in\mathbb{N}$ in $B$-normal form, namely $n=b^ea+r$, where $b\in B$ the greatest base…
Several theorems about the equivalence of familiar theories of reverse mathematics with certain well-ordering principles have been proved by recursion-theoretic and combinatorial methods (Friedman, Marcone, Montalban et al.) and with…
Peter Aczel has given a categorical construction for fixed points of normal functors, i.e. dilators which preserve initial segments. For a general dilator $X\mapsto T_X$ we cannot expect to obtain a well-founded fixed point, as the order…
Inspired by Gentzen's 1936 consistency proof, Goodstein found a close fit between descending sequences of ordinals epsilon_0 and sequences of integers, now known as Goodstein sequences. This article revisits Goodstein's 1944 paper. In light…
We prove that Buchholz's system of fundamental sequences for the $\vartheta$ function enjoys various regularity conditions, including the Bachmann property. We partially extend these results to variants of the $\vartheta$ function,…
Goodstein's principle is arguably the first purely number-theoretic statement known to be independent of Peano arithmetic. It involves sequences of natural numbers which at first appear to grow very quickly, but eventually decrease to zero.…
It is generally accepted that H. Friedman's gap condition is closely related to iterated collapsing functions from ordinal analysis. But what precisely is the connection? We offer the following answer: In a previous paper we have shown that…
The original Goodstein process is based on writing numbers in hereditary $b$-exponential normal form: that is, each number $n$ is written in some base $b\geq 2$ as $n=b^ea+r$, with $e$ and $r$ iteratively being written in hereditary…
One of the most important principles of J.-Y. Girard's $\Pi^1_2$-logic is induction on dilators. In particular, Girard used this principle to construct his famous functor $\Lambda$. He claimed that the totality of $\Lambda$ is equivalent to…
It is widely claimed that the natural axiom systems$\unicode{x2013}$including the large cardinal axioms$\unicode{x2013}$form a well-ordered hierarchy. Yet, as is well-known, it is possible to exhibit non-linearity and ill-foundedness by…
Goodstein's argument is essentially that the hereditary representation m_{[b]} of any given natural number m in the natural number base b can be mirrored in Cantor Arithmetic, and used to well-define a finite decreasing sequence of…
In previous work, the author has shown that $\Pi^1_1$-induction along $\mathbb N$ is equivalent to a suitable formalization of the statement that every normal function on the ordinals has a fixed point. More precisely, this was proved for a…
We introduce ordinal collapsing principles that are inspired by proof theory but have a set theoretic flavor. These principles are shown to be equivalent to iterated $\Pi^1_1$-comprehension and the existence of admissible sets, over weak…