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DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITP.2025.33

Scott’s Representation Theorem and the Univalent Karoubi Envelope

Authors: Arnoud van der Leer, Kobe Wullaert, and Benedikt Ahrens

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 352, 16th International Conference on Interactive Theorem Proving (ITP 2025)

Abstract

Lambek and Scott constructed a correspondence between simply-typed lambda calculi and Cartesian closed categories. Scott’s Representation Theorem is a cousin to this result for untyped lambda calculi. It states that every untyped lambda calculus arises from a reflexive object in some category. We present a formalization of Scott’s Representation Theorem in univalent foundations, in the (Rocq-)UniMath library. Specifically, we implement two proofs of that theorem, one by Scott and one by Hyland. We also explain the role of the Karoubi envelope - a categorical construction - in the proofs and the impact the chosen foundation has on this construction. Finally, we report on some automation we have implemented for the reduction of λ-terms.

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Arnoud van der Leer, Kobe Wullaert, and Benedikt Ahrens. Scott’s Representation Theorem and the Univalent Karoubi Envelope. In 16th International Conference on Interactive Theorem Proving (ITP 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 352, pp. 33:1-33:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{vanderleer_et_al:LIPIcs.ITP.2025.33,
  author =	{van der Leer, Arnoud and Wullaert, Kobe and Ahrens, Benedikt},
  title =	{{Scott’s Representation Theorem and the Univalent Karoubi Envelope}},
  booktitle =	{16th International Conference on Interactive Theorem Proving (ITP 2025)},
  pages =	{33:1--33:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-396-6},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{352},
  editor =	{Forster, Yannick and Keller, Chantal},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITP.2025.33},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-246318},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITP.2025.33},
  annote =	{Keywords: Lambda calculi, algebraic theories, categorical semantics, Karoubi envelope, formalization, Rocq-UniMath, univalent foundations}
}

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Scott’s Representation Theorem and the Univalent Karoubi Envelope

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