Laboratoire de l'Informatique et du Parallélisme » Linear Arithmetic

It is often useful for us to work with \emph{length-induction}, which is equivalent to polynomial induction and well known from bounded arithmetic:

\begin{proposition}

	[Length induction]

	The axiom schema of formulae,

\begin{equation}

\label{eqn:lind}

	( A(0) \cand \forall x^\normal . (A(x) \cimp A(\succ{} x)) ) \cimp \forall x^\safe. A(|x|)

\end{equation}

	for formulae $A \in \Sigma^\safe_i$

	is equivalent to $\cpind{\Sigma^\safe_i}$.

\end{proposition}

\begin{proof}

	Suppose we have $A(0)$ and $A(a) \cimp A(\succ{} a)$ for each $a \in \normal$.

	Then, by $\basic$, we have that $A(|a|) \cimp A(|2a|)$ and $A(|a|) \cimp A(|2a+1|)$ for each $a \in \normal$, whence we may conclude $\forall x. A(|x|)$ by polynomial induction on $A(|x|)$.

\end{proof}

Let us refer to the axiom schema in \eqref{eqn:lind} as $\clind{\mathcal C}$, when $A \in \mathcal C$.

We will freely use this in place of polynomial induction whenever it is convenient.