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13 votes
3 answers
1k views

Which ordinals can be proof-theoretic ordinals of a reasonable theory?

When talking to a friend recently he asked a question - are there any reasonable first-order theories which have proof theoretic ordinal equal to small or large Veblen ordinal? I have then extended ...
8 votes
2 answers
560 views

Models of PRA/EFA with induction on $X$ but not $\omega^X$

As I currently understand it, induction on formulas containing $N+1$ first-order quantifiers is required to prove the well-ordering of the ordinal $(\omega \uparrow\uparrow N) < \epsilon_0$, that ...
9 votes
1 answer
644 views

Gentzen's result on PA

The Wikipedia states that Gentzen proved that "in modern terms, the proof-theoretic ordinal of PA is $\varepsilon_0$." Further down, the article defines what the "proof theoretic ordinal" of a theory ...
6 votes
0 answers
422 views

What is proof-theoretic ordinal of weak first-order arithmetic?

According to Wikipedia(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordinal_analysis) and nlab(https://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/ordinal+analysis), a proof-theoretic ordinal of $\mathsf{PRA}$ is $\omega^\omega$. ...
1 vote
1 answer
466 views

What does "can almost be proven in PA" mean regarding Theorem 2 of Timothy Chow's expository article, "The Consistency of Arithmetic"?

In his expository article, "The Consistency of Arithmetic" (MSN), Prof. Chow has the following theorems: Theorem 1. If $a_1, a_2, a_3,\dotsc$ is a sequence of ordinals and $a_i \ge a_j$ whenever $...
9 votes
1 answer
1k views

ERA, PRA, PA, transfinite induction and equivalences

I'm quite sure I don't understand very well the links between proof theoretical ordinals of theories, the axioms of transfinite induction and the objects a theory can prove to exist. For instance I'm ...