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DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CSL.2026.15

Cyclic Proof Theory of Generalised Inductive Definitions

Authors: Gianluca Curzi and Lukas Melgaard

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 363, 34th EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2026)

Abstract

We study cyclic proof systems for μPA, an extension of Peano arithmetic by generalised inductive definitions that is arithmetically equivalent to the (impredicative) subsystem of second-order arithmetic Π^1_2-CA₀ by Möllerfeld. The main result of this paper is that cyclic and inductive μPA have the same proof-theoretic strength. First, we translate cyclic proofs into an annotated variant based on Sprenger and Dam’s systems for first-order μ-calculus, whose stronger validity condition allows for a simpler proof of soundness. We then formalise this argument within Π^1_2-CA₀, leveraging Möllerfeld’s conservativity properties. To this end, we build on prior work by Curzi and Das on the reverse mathematics of the Knaster-Tarski theorem. As a byproduct of our proof methods we show that, despite the stronger validity condition, annotated and "plain" cyclic proofs for μPA prove the same theorems. This work represents a further step in the non-wellfounded proof-theoretic analysis of theories of arithmetic via impredicative fragments of second-order arithmetic, an approach initiated by Simpson’s Cyclic Arithmetic, and continued by Das and Melgaard in the context of arithmetical inductive definitions.

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Gianluca Curzi and Lukas Melgaard. Cyclic Proof Theory of Generalised Inductive Definitions. In 34th EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 363, pp. 15:1-15:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

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@InProceedings{curzi_et_al:LIPIcs.CSL.2026.15,
  author =	{Curzi, Gianluca and Melgaard, Lukas},
  title =	{{Cyclic Proof Theory of Generalised Inductive Definitions}},
  booktitle =	{34th EACSL Annual Conference on Computer Science Logic (CSL 2026)},
  pages =	{15:1--15:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-411-6},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{363},
  editor =	{Guerrini, Stefano and K\"{o}nig, Barbara},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CSL.2026.15},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-254399},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CSL.2026.15},
  annote =	{Keywords: cyclic proofs, positive inductive definitions, arithmetic, fixed points, proof theory, reset proof systems}
}

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DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.FSCD.2023.27

Cyclic Proofs for Arithmetical Inductive Definitions

Authors: Anupam Das and Lukas Melgaard

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 260, 8th International Conference on Formal Structures for Computation and Deduction (FSCD 2023)

Abstract

We investigate the cyclic proof theory of extensions of Peano Arithmetic by (finitely iterated) inductive definitions. Such theories are essential to proof theoretic analyses of certain "impredicative" theories; moreover, our cyclic systems naturally subsume Simpson’s Cyclic Arithmetic. Our main result is that cyclic and inductive systems for arithmetical inductive definitions are equally powerful. We conduct a metamathematical argument, formalising the soundness of cyclic proofs within second-order arithmetic by a form of induction on closure ordinals, thence appealing to conservativity results. This approach is inspired by those of Simpson and Das for Cyclic Arithmetic, however we must further address a difficulty: the closure ordinals of our inductive definitions (around Church-Kleene) far exceed the proof theoretic ordinal of the appropriate metatheory (around Bachmann-Howard), so explicit induction on their notations is not possible. For this reason, we rather rely on formalisation of the theory of (recursive) ordinals within second-order arithmetic.

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Anupam Das and Lukas Melgaard. Cyclic Proofs for Arithmetical Inductive Definitions. In 8th International Conference on Formal Structures for Computation and Deduction (FSCD 2023). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 260, pp. 27:1-27:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2023)

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@InProceedings{das_et_al:LIPIcs.FSCD.2023.27,
  author =	{Das, Anupam and Melgaard, Lukas},
  title =	{{Cyclic Proofs for Arithmetical Inductive Definitions}},
  booktitle =	{8th International Conference on Formal Structures for Computation and Deduction (FSCD 2023)},
  pages =	{27:1--27:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-277-8},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2023},
  volume =	{260},
  editor =	{Gaboardi, Marco and van Raamsdonk, Femke},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.FSCD.2023.27},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-180119},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.FSCD.2023.27},
  annote =	{Keywords: cyclic proofs, inductive definitions, arithmetic, fixed points, proof theory}
}

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Cyclic Proof Theory of Generalised Inductive Definitions

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Cyclic Proofs for Arithmetical Inductive Definitions

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