Autarkic Computations in Formal Proofs

  • Authors:
  • Henk Barendregt;Erik Barendsen

  • Affiliations:
  • Computing Science Institute, University of Nijmegen, Toernooiveld 1, 6525 ED Nijmegen, The Netherlands. e-mail: henk@cs.kun.nl;Computing Science Institute, University of Nijmegen, Toernooiveld 1, 6525 ED Nijmegen, The Netherlands. e-mail: erikb@cs.kun.nl

  • Venue:
  • Journal of Automated Reasoning
  • Year:
  • 2002

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Abstract

Formal proofs in mathematics and computer science are being studied because these objects can be verified by a very simple computer program. An important open problem is whether these formal proofs can be generated with an effort not much greater than writing a mathematical paper in, say, LATEX. Modern systems for proof development make the formalization of reasoning relatively easy. However, formalizing computations in such a manner that the results can be used in formal proofs is not immediate. In this paper we show how to obtain formal proofs of statements such as iPrime$(\underline{61})$ in the context of Peano arithmetic or (ix+1)(ix+1)=ix2+2ix+1 in the context of rings. We hope that the method will help bridge the gap between the efficient systems of computer algebra and the reliable systems of proof development.