Alphabeta Math
PropositionStatement: AI-adaptedProof: AI-adaptedSession-authored (Fable 5 assisted)precheck passverified 2026-08-06 (claude-opus-5)
How statement and proof provenance work

The first chip identifies the source of the statement or construction; the second identifies the source of its local proof or verification.

  • 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.

These labels describe origin, not correctness: citations and verification chips remain separate evidence.

iAi={}\prod_{i \in \varnothing} A_i = \{\varnothing\}; if Aj=A_j = \varnothing for some jIj \in I then iIAi=\prod_{i \in I} A_i = \varnothing; and for I={j}I = \{j\} the evaluation ff(j)f \mapsto f(j) is a bijection iIAiAj\prod_{i \in I} A_i \to A_j

Statement

Let (Ai)iI(A_i)_{i \in I} be an indexed family. Then

  • (i) if I=I = \varnothing then iIAi={}\prod_{i \in I} A_i = \{\varnothing\};
  • (ii) if Aj=A_j = \varnothing for some jIj \in I then iIAi=\prod_{i \in I} A_i = \varnothing;
  • (iii) if I={j}I = \{j\} then the evaluation e:={(f,a)(iIAi)×Aj:a=f(j)}e := \{\,(f,a) \in (\prod_{i \in I} A_i) \times A_j : a = f(j)\,\} is a bijection iIAiAj\prod_{i \in I} A_i \to A_j.

Clauses (i) and (ii) pull in opposite directions and are the two cases most often mis-stated: an empty index set gives a product with one element, while a single empty member collapses the product entirely.

Facts & Assumptions

Given: an indexed family (Ai)iI(A_i)_{i \in I}.

[L2]
[L3]

domR:={a:b (a,b)R},ranR:={b:a (a,b)R}\operatorname{dom} R := \{\, a : \exists b\ (a,b) \in R \,\}, \qquad \operatorname{ran} R := \{\, b : \exists a\ (a,b) \in R \,\} (Relation, domR\operatorname{dom} R, ranR\operatorname{ran} R, fldR\operatorname{fld} R, and the specialisations "relation from AA to BB" and "relation on AA").

[L4]

ff is injective (one-to-one) if f(x)=f(y)f(x) = f(y) implies x=yx = y, for all x,yAx, y \in A (Injection, surjection, bijection).

[L5]

ff is surjective (onto) if for every bBb \in B there is some xAx \in A with f(x)=bf(x) = b (Injection, surjection, bijection).

[L6]

f=gf = g if and only if domf=domg\operatorname{dom} f = \operatorname{dom} g and f(x)=g(x)f(x) = g(x) for every xdomfx \in \operatorname{dom} f (Functions ff and gg are equal if and only if domf=domg\operatorname{dom} f = \operatorname{dom} g and f(x)=g(x)f(x) = g(x) for every xx in that common domain).

[L7]

There is exactly one set with no elements, written \varnothing (There is exactly one set with no elements, written \varnothing).

[L8]

{x,y}\{x,y\} is the set whose elements are exactly xx and yy, and {x}:={x,x}\{x\} := \{x,x\} (The unordered pair {x,y}\{x,y\} and the singleton {x}={x,x}\{x\} = \{x,x\}).

Proof

technique · direct
1.1

Claim (i): let I=I = \varnothing. A function with domain \varnothing has no elements, since each of its elements would be a pair whose first coordinate lies in its domain, so the only such function is \varnothing; and it satisfies the condition "f(i)Aif(i) \in A_i for every iIi \in I" vacuously. Hence \varnothing is the only element of the product, and the product is {}\{\varnothing\}.

L1L2L3L7L8L12
1.2

Claim (ii): let jIj \in I with Aj=A_j = \varnothing. An element ff of the product would satisfy f(j)Ajf(j) \in A_j, and \varnothing has no elements; so the product has no elements.

L1L7L12
1.3

Claim (iii), the map: let I={j}I = \{j\} and write P:=iIAiP := \prod_{i \in I} A_i. Each fPf \in P has f(j)Ajf(j) \in A_j, so ee as displayed is a set by separation inside P×AjP \times A_j, is single valued because f(j)f(j) is, has domain PP, and has range inside AjA_j; thus e:PAje : P \to A_j with e(f)=f(j)e(f) = f(j).

L1L2L3L9L10
2.1

Claim (iii), injectivity: if e(f)=e(g)e(f) = e(g) for f,gPf, g \in P, then ff and gg have the same domain {j}\{j\} and agree at jj, hence are equal.

L4L6L8step 1.3
2.2

Claim (iii), surjectivity: let aAja \in A_j and put f:={(j,a)}f := \{(j,a)\}. This is a function with domain {j}\{j\} and f(j)=aAjf(j) = a \in A_j, and aa lies in iIAi\bigcup_{i \in I} A_i, so fPf \in P and e(f)=ae(f) = a.

L1L2L3L5L8L11step 1.3
3.1

Claims (i), (ii) and (iii) are established, which is the statement.

step 1.1step 1.2step 1.3step 2.1step 2.2

Remarks

  • Where the general question is settled, and where it is not. These three computations use no choice principle: in (i) and (ii) nothing is selected, and in (iii) the single value f(j)f(j) is determined. None of them is an instance of the general question, because each names its elements outright. Whether a product of nonempty members over an arbitrary index set is nonempty is that general question, and it is exactly the product formulation of the Axiom of Choice, stated earlier on this page at The Axiom of Choice; clause (ii) is the reason that formulation carries the hypothesis that every member is nonempty.

Depends on

Used by

Dependency tree · next 3 levels

Direct dependencies and their dependencies through the next three levels: 31 results over 14 levels. An arrow runs from a result to what uses it, and this result sits at the bottom with a heavier outline. Click the chart to enlarge it.

Sources