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PropositionStatement: Literature-sourcedProof: AI-generatedprecheck passjudge pass (gpt-5.6-terra)audited 2026-09-12
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  • Literature-sourced: the exact statement appears in a cited source; only wording and notation differ.
  • AI-adapted: a semantically identical restatement of literature-sourced material, modulo indexing, notation, and boundary cases adopted by the library.
  • AI-generated: a genuinely novel statement formulated by AI, with no source for the claim itself.

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Basic arithmetic operations and bounded quantification are primitive recursive

Statement

The following total functions are primitive recursive:

  • addition and multiplication on N,
  • predecessor p(0)=0, p(n+1)=n,
  • truncated subtraction mn:=max(mn,0),
  • the characteristic functions of 0, equality, and order,
  • for every primitive recursive g:Nk+1N, the bounded sum and bounded product Σg(n,x):=yng(y,x),Πg(n,x):=yng(y,x),
  • and therefore bounded existential and universal quantifiers of primitive-recursive predicates.

Facts & Assumptions

Given: The closure clauses in Primitive recursive functions.

[L1]

Primitive recursive functions are exactly the total functions obtained from the initial arithmetic functions by finitely many compositions and primitive recursions, by Primitive recursive functions.

Proof

technique · direct
1.1

Addition is obtained by primitive recursion from the clauses add(0,n)=n and add(m+1,n)=S(add(m,n)). Multiplication is then obtained by primitive recursion from 0 and addition via mul(0,n)=0 and mul(m+1,n)=add(mul(m,n),n). By [L1], both functions are primitive recursive.

L1givenconstruct
2.1

The predecessor function is primitive recursive from p(0)=0 and p(n+1)=P12(n,p(n)). Then truncated subtraction is primitive recursive by m0=m and m(n+1)=p(mn). From this, the zero-test χ0 is primitive recursive via χ0(0)=1 and χ0(n+1)=0, the sign function sg(n)=1χ0(n) is primitive recursive, equality is given by χ=(m,n)=χ0((mn)+(nm)), and order is given by χ(m,n)=χ0(mn). So the listed basic arithmetic and characteristic functions are primitive recursive by [L1].

L1step 1.1construct
2.2

If g:Nk+1N is primitive recursive, then bounded sums and products are obtained by primitive recursion through Σg(0,x)=g(0,x), Σg(n+1,x)=Σg(n,x)+g(n+1,x), Πg(0,x)=g(0,x), and Πg(n+1,x)=Πg(n,x)g(n+1,x). Hence Σg and Πg are primitive recursive by [L1].

L1step 1.1construct
3.1

If r(y,x){0,1} is a primitive-recursive characteristic function, then χynr(y,x)=1(n,x)=sg(Σr(n,x)) and χynr(y,x)=1(n,x)=Πr(n,x). Thus bounded existential and bounded universal quantification preserve primitive recursiveness.

step 2.1step 2.2algebra
4.1

The displayed constructions establish every operation and quantifier listed in the statement.

step 1.1step 2.1step 3.1

Depends on

Used by

Dependency tree · two levels

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Sources