Cut-elimination Research Articles

Decidability of topological quasi-Boolean algebras

A sequent calculus S for the variety tqBa of all topological quasi-Boolean algebras is established. Using a construction of syntactic finite algebraic model, the finite model property of S is shown, and thus the decidability of S is obtained. We also introduce two non-distributive variants of topological quasi-Boolean algebras. For the variety TDM 5 of all topological De Morgan lattices with the axiom 5, we establish a sequent calculus S 5 and prove that the cut elimination holds for it. Consequently the decidability of S 5 is established. Furthermore, this proof-theoretic method is applied to some subvarieties of TDM 5 .

On Combining Intuitionistic and S4 Modal Logic

We address the problem of combining intuitionistic and S4 modal logic in a non-collapsing way inspired by the recent works in combining intuitionistic and classical logic. The combined language includes the shared constructors of both logics namely conjunction, disjunction and falsum as well as the intuitionistic implication, the classical implication and the necessity modality. We present a Gentzen calculus for the combined logic defined over a Gentzen calculus for the host S4 modal logic. The semantics is provided by Kripke structures. The calculus is proved to be sound and complete with respect to this semantics. We also show that the combined logic is a conservative extension of each component. Finally we establish that the Gentzen calculus for the combined logic enjoys cut elimination.

Sequent Systems for Consequence Relations of Cyclic Linear Logics

Linear Logic is a versatile framework with diverse applications in computer science and mathematics. One intriguing fragment of Linear Logic is Multiplicative-Additive Linear Logic (MALL), which forms the exponential-free component of the larger framework. Modifying MALL, researchers have explored weaker logics such as Noncommutative MALL (Bilinear Logic, BL) and Cyclic MALL (CyMALL) to investigate variations in commutativity. In this paper, we focus on Cyclic Nonassociative Bilinear Logic (CyNBL), a variant that combines noncommutativity and nonassociativity. We introduce a sequent system for CyNBL, which includes an auxiliary system for incorporating nonlogical axioms. Notably, we establish the cut elimination property for CyNBL. Moreover, we establish the strong conservativeness of CyNBL over Full Nonassociative Lambek Calculus (FNL) without additive constants. The paper highlights that all proofs are constructed using syntactic methods, ensuring their constructive nature. We provide insights into constructing cut-free proofs and establishing a logical relationship between CyNBL and FNL.

Symmetric and conflated intuitionistic logics

Abstract Two new propositional non-classical logics, referred to as symmetric intuitionistic logic (SIL) and conflated intuitionistic logic (CIL), are introduced as indexed and non-indexed Gentzen-style sequent calculi. SIL is regarded as a natural hybrid logic combining intuitionistic and dual-intuitionistic logics, whereas CIL is regarded as a variant of intuitionistic paraconsistent logic with conflation and without paraconsistent negation. The cut-elimination theorems for SIL and CIL are proved. CIL is shown to be conservative over SIL.

Cut elimination for coherent theories in negation normal form

We present a cut-free sequent calculus for a class of first-order theories in negation normal form which include coherent and co-coherent theories alike. All structural rules, including cut, are admissible.

Algebraic Proof Theory for LE-logics

In this article, we extend the research programme in algebraic proof theory from axiomatic extensions of the full Lambek calculus to logics algebraically captured by certain varieties of normal lattice expansions (normal LE-logics). Specifically, we generalize the residuated frames in Reference [ 34 ] to arbitrary signatures of normal lattice expansions (LE). Such a generalization provides a valuable tool for proving important properties of LE-logics in full uniformity. We prove semantic cut elimination for the display calculi \(\mathrm{D.LE}\) associated with the basic normal LE-logics and their axiomatic extensions with analytic inductive axioms. We also prove the finite model property (FMP) for each such calculus \(\mathrm{D.LE}\) , as well as for its extensions with analytic structural rules satisfying certain additional properties.

Orthologic with Axioms

We study the proof theory and algorithms for orthologic, a logical system based on ortholattices, which have shown practical relevance in simplification and normalization of verification conditions. Ortholattices weaken Boolean algebras while having polynomial-time equivalence checking that is sound with respect to Boolean algebra semantics. We generalize ortholattice reasoning and obtain an algorithm for proving a larger class of classically valid formulas. As the key result, we analyze a proof system for orthologic augmented with axioms. An important feature of the system is that it limits the number of formulas in a sequent to at most two, which makes the extension with axioms non-trivial. We show a generalized form of cut elimination for this system, which implies a sub-formula property. From there we derive a cubic-time algorithm for provability from axioms, or equivalently, for validity in finitely presented ortholattices. We further show that propositional resolution of width 5 proves all formulas provable in orthologic with axioms. We show that orthologic system subsumes resolution of width 2 and arbitrarily wide unit resolution and is complete for reasoning about generalizations of propositional Horn clauses. Moving beyond ground axioms, we introduce effectively propositional orthologic (by analogy with EPR for classical logic), presenting its semantics as well as a sound and complete proof system. Our proof system implies the decidability of effectively propositional orthologic, as well as its fixed-parameter tractability for a bounded maximal number of variables in each axiom. As a special case, we obtain a generalization of Datalog with negation and disjunction.

Exponentials as Substitutions and the Cost of Cut Elimination in Linear Logic

This paper introduces the exponential substitution calculus (ESC), a new presentation of cut elimination for IMELL, based on proof terms and building on the idea that exponentials can be seen as explicit substitutions. The idea in itself is not new, but here it is pushed to a new level, inspired by Accattoli and Kesner's linear substitution calculus (LSC). One of the key properties of the LSC is that it naturally models the sub-term property of abstract machines, that is the key ingredient for the study of reasonable time cost models for the $\lambda$-calculus. The new ESC is then used to design a cut elimination strategy with the sub-term property, providing the first polynomial cost model for cut elimination with unconstrained exponentials. For the ESC, we also prove untyped confluence and typed strong normalization, showing that it is an alternative to proof nets for an advanced study of cut elimination.

Defining Logical Systems via Algebraic Constraints on Proofs

Abstract We present a comprehensive programme analysing the decomposition of proof systems for non-classical logics into proof systems for other logics, especially classical logic, using an algebra of constraints. That is, one recovers a proof system for a target logic by enriching a proof system for another, typically simpler, logic with an algebra of constraints that act as correctness conditions on the latter to capture the former; e.g. one may use Boolean algebra to give constraints in a sequent calculus for classical propositional logic to produce a sequent calculus for intuitionistic propositional logic. The idea behind such forms of decomposition is to obtain a tool for uniform and modular treatment of proof theory and to provide a bridge between semantics logics and their proof theory. The paper discusses the theoretical background of the project and provides several illustrations of its work in the field of intuitionistic and modal logics: including, a uniform treatment of modular and cut-free proof systems for a large class of propositional logics; a general criterion for a novel approach to soundness and completeness of a logic with respect to a model-theoretic semantics; and a case study deriving a model-theoretic semantics from a proof-theoretic specification of a logic.

Bisequent Calculus for Four-Valued Quasi-Relevant Logics: Cut Elimination and Interpolation

We present a uniform syntactical characterisation of the class of quasi-relevant logics which are four-valued extensions of the basic relevant logic B of Meyer and Routley. All these logics are obtained by the addition of suitable quasi-relevant implications to the four-valued logic of First Degree Entailment FDE. So far they were characterised axiomatically and semantically in several ways but did not obtain a special proof-theoretic treatment. To this aim a generalised form of sequent calculus called bisequent calculus (BSC) is applied. In BSC rules operate on the ordered pairs of ordinary sequents. It may be treated as the weakest kind of system in the rich family of generalised sequent calculi operating on items which are some collections of ordinary sequents, like hypersequents or nested sequents. It is shown that all logics under consideration have cut-free characterisation in BSC which satisfies the subformula property and yields decidability. It is also shown that the interpolation theorem holds for these logics if their language is enriched with additional negation.

Cut Elimination for Extended Sequent Calculi

We present a syntactical cut-elimination proof for an extended sequent calculus covering the classical modal logics in the \(\mathsf{K}\), \(\mathsf{D}\), \(\mathsf{T}\), \(\mathsf{K4}\), \(\mathsf{D4}\) and \(\mathsf{S4}\) spectrum. We design the systems uniformly since they all share the same set of rules. Different logics are obtained by “tuning” a single parameter, namely a constraint on the applicability of the cut rule and on the (left and right, respectively) rules for \(\Box\) and \(\Diamond\). Starting points for this research are 2-sequents and indexed-based calculi (sequents and tableaux). By extending and modifying existing proposals, we show how to achieve a syntactical proof of the cut-elimination theorem that is as close as possible to the one for first-order classical logic. In doing this, we implicitly show how small is the proof-theoretical distance between classical logic and the systems under consideration.

Cut elimination by unthreading

We provide a non-Gentzen, though fully syntactical, cut-elimination algorithm for classical propositional logic. The designed procedure is implemented on GS4\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\ extsf{GS4}$$\\end{document}, the one-sided version of Kleene’s sequent system G4\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\ extsf{G4}$$\\end{document}. The algorithm here proposed proves to be more ‘dexterous’ than other, more traditional, Gentzen-style techniques as the size of proofs decreases at each step of reduction. As a corollary result, we show that analyticity always guarantees minimality of the size of GS4\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\ extsf{GS4}$$\\end{document}-proofs.

Complementary Proof Nets for Classical Logic

A complementary system for a given logic is a proof system whose theorems are exactly the formulas that are not valid according to the logic in question. This article is a contribution to the complementary proof theory of classical propositional logic. In particular, we present a complementary proof-net system, textsf{CPN}, that is sound and complete with respect to the set of all classically invalid (one-side) sequents. We also show that cut elimination in textsf{CPN} enjoys strong normalization along with strong confluence (and, hence, uniqueness of normal forms).

Linear Logic Properly Displayed

We introduce proper display calculi for intuitionistic, bi-intuitionistic and classical linear logics with exponentials, which are sound, complete, conservative, and enjoy cut elimination and subformula property. Based on the same design, we introduce a variant of Lambek calculus with exponentials, aimed at capturing the controlled application of exchange and associativity. Properness (i.e., closure under uniform substitution of all parametric parts in rules) is the main technical novelty of the present proposal, allowing both for the smoothest proof of cut elimination and for the development of an overarching and modular treatment for a vast class of axiomatic extensions and expansions of intuitionistic, bi-intuitionistic, and classical linear logics with exponentials. Our proposal builds on an algebraic and order-theoretic analysis of linear logic and applies the guidelines of the multi-type methodology in the design of display calculi.

Glivenko sequent classes and constructive cut elimination in geometric logics

Glivenko sequent classes and constructive cut elimination in geometric logics

A Subatomic Proof System for Decision Trees

We design a proof system for propositional classical logic that integrates two languages for Boolean functions: standard conjunction-disjunction-negation and binary decision trees. We give two reasons to do so. The first is proof-theoretical naturalness: The system consists of all and only the inference rules generated by the single, simple, linear scheme of the recently introduced subatomic logic. Thanks to this regularity, cuts are eliminated via a natural construction. The second reason is that the system generates efficient proofs. Indeed, we show that a certain class of tautologies due to Statman, which cannot have better than exponential cut-free proofs in the sequent calculus, have polynomial cut-free proofs in our system. We achieve this by using the same construction that we use for cut elimination. In summary, by expanding the language of propositional logic, we make its proof theory more regular and generate more proofs, some of which are very efficient. That design is made possible by considering atoms as superpositions of their truth values, which are connected by self-dual, non-commutative connectives. A proof can then be projected via each atom into two proofs, one for each truth value, without a need for cuts. Those projections are semantically natural and are at the heart of the constructions in this article. To accommodate self-dual non-commutativity, we compose proofs in deep inference.

Syntactic Completeness of Proper Display Calculi

A recent strand of research in structural proof theory aims at exploring the notion of analytic calculi (i.e., those calculi that support general and modular proof-strategies for cut elimination) and at identifying classes of logics that can be captured in terms of these calculi. In this context, Wansing introduced the notion of proper display calculi as one possible design framework for proof calculi in which the analyticity desiderata are realized in a particularly transparent way. Recently, the theory of properly displayable logics (i.e., those logics that can be equivalently presented with some proper display calculus) has been developed in connection with generalized Sahlqvist theory (a.k.a. unified correspondence). Specifically, properly displayable logics have been syntactically characterized as those axiomatized by analytic inductive axioms , which can be equivalently and algorithmically transformed into analytic structural rules so the resulting proper display calculi enjoy a set of basic properties: soundness, completeness, conservativity, cut elimination, and the subformula property. In this context, the proof that the given calculus is complete w.r.t. the original logic is usually carried out syntactically , i.e., by showing that a (cut-free) derivation exists of each given axiom of the logic in the basic system to which the analytic structural rules algorithmically generated from the given axiom have been added. However, so far, this proof strategy for syntactic completeness has been implemented on a case-by-case base and not in general. In this article, we address this gap by proving syntactic completeness for properly displayable logics in any normal (distributive) lattice expansion signature. Specifically, we show that for every analytic inductive axiom a cut-free derivation can be effectively generated that has a specific shape, referred to as pre-normal form .

A Note on Calculi for Non-deterministic Many-valued Logics

We present two deductively equivalent calculi for non-deterministic many-valued logics. One is defined by axioms and the other – by rules of inference. The two calculi are obtained from the truth tables of the logic under consideration in a straightforward manner. We prove soundness and strong completeness theorems for both calculi and also prove the cut elimination theorem for the calculi defined by rules of inference.

On infinitary Gödel logics

Abstract We study propositional and first-order Gödel logics over infinitary languages, which are motivated semantically by corresponding interpretations into the unit interval $[0,1]$. We provide infinitary Hilbert-style calculi for the particular (propositional and first-order) cases with con-/disjunctions of countable length and prove corresponding completeness theorems by extending the usual Lindenbaum–Tarski construction to the infinitary case for a respective algebraic semantics via complete linear Heyting algebras. We provide infinitary hypersequent calculi and prove corresponding cut-elimination theorems in the Schütte–Tait style. Initial observations are made regarding truth-value sets other than $[0,1]$.

BCI-Algebras and Related Logics

Kabzinski in [6] first introduced an extension of BCI-logic that is isomorphic to BCI-algebras. Kashima and Komori in [7] gave a Gentzen-style sequent calculus version of this logic as well as another sequent calculus which they proved to be equivalent. They used the second to prove decidability of the word problem for BCI-algebras. The decidability proof relies on cut elimination for the second system, this paper provides a fuller and simpler proof of this. Also supplied is a new decidability proof and proof finding algorithm for their second extension of BCI-logic and so for BCI-algebras.