A syntactic approach to continuity of T-definable functionals

We give a new proof of the well-known fact that all functions $(\mathbb{N} \to \mathbb{N}) \to \mathbb{N}$ which are definable in G\"odel's System T are continuous via a syntactic approach. Differing from the usual syntactic method, we firstly perform a translation of System T into itself in which natural numbers are translated to functions $(\mathbb{N} \to \mathbb{N}) \to \mathbb{N}$. Then we inductively define a continuity predicate on the translated elements and show that the translation of any term in System T satisfies the continuity predicate. We obtain the desired result by relating terms and their translations via a parametrized logical relation. Our constructions and proofs have been formalized in the Agda proof assistant. Because Agda is also a programming language, we can execute our proof to compute moduli of continuity of T-definable functions

Inductive Continuity via Brouwer Trees

Continuity is a key principle of intuitionistic logic that is generally accepted by constructivists but is inconsistent with classical logic. Most commonly, continuity states that a function from the Baire space to numbers, only needs approximations of the points in the Baire space to compute. More recently, another formulation of the continuity principle was put forward. It states that for any function F from the Baire space to numbers, there exists a (dialogue) tree that contains the values of F at its leaves and such that the modulus of F at each point of the Baire space is given by the length of the corresponding branch in the tree. In this paper we provide the first internalization of this "inductive" continuity principle within a computational setting. Concretely, we present a class of intuitionistic theories that validate this formulation of continuity thanks to computations that construct such dialogue trees internally to the theories using effectful computations. We further demonstrate that this inductive continuity principle implies other forms of continuity principles

Realizing Continuity Using Stateful Computations

The principle of continuity is a seminal property that holds for a number of intuitionistic theories such as System T. Roughly speaking, it states that functions on real numbers only need approximations of these numbers to compute. Generally, continuity principles have been justified using semantical arguments, but it is known that the modulus of continuity of functions can be computed using effectful computations such as exceptions or reference cells. This paper presents a class of intuitionistic theories that features stateful computations, such as reference cells, and shows that these theories can be extended with continuity axioms. The modulus of continuity of the functionals on the Baire space is directly computed using the stateful computations enabled in the theory

The Independence of Markov's Principle in Type Theory

In this paper, we show that Markov's principle is not derivable in dependent type theory with natural numbers and one universe. One way to prove this would be to remark that Markov's principle does not hold in a sheaf model of type theory over Cantor space, since Markov's principle does not hold for the generic point of this model. Instead we design an extension of type theory, which intuitively extends type theory by the addition of a generic point of Cantor space. We then show the consistency of this extension by a normalization argument. Markov's principle does not hold in this extension, and it follows that it cannot be proved in type theory

A continuous computational interpretation of type theories

This thesis provides a computational interpretation of type theory validating Brouwer’s uniform-continuity principle that all functions from the Cantor space to natural numbers are uniformly continuous, so that type-theoretic proofs with the principle as an assumption have computational content. For this, we develop a variation of Johnstone’s topological topos, which consists of sheaves on a certain uniform-continuity site that is suitable for predicative, constructive reasoning. Our concrete sheaves can be described as sets equipped with a suitable continuity structure, which we call C-spaces, and their natural transformations can be regarded as continuous maps. The Kleene-Kreisel continuous functional can be calculated within the category of C-spaces. Our C-spaces form a locally cartesian closed category with a natural numbers object, and hence give models of Gödel’s system T and of dependent type theory. Moreover, the category has a fan functional that continuously compute moduli of uniform continuity, which validates the uniform-continuity principle formulated as a skolemized formula in system T and as a type via the Curry-Howard interpretation in dependent type theory. We emphasize that the construction of C-spaces and the verification of the uniform-continuity principles have been formalized in intensional Martin-Löf type theory in Agda notation

Validating Brouwer's Continuity Principle for Numbers Using Named Exceptions

This paper extends the Nuprl proof assistant (a system representative of the class of extensional type theories with dependent types) withnamed exceptionsandhandlers, as well as a nominalfreshoperator. Using these new features, we prove a version of Brouwer's continuity principle for numbers. We also provide a simpler proof of a weaker version of this principle that only uses diverging terms. We prove these two principles in Nuprl's metatheory using our formalization of Nuprl in Coq and reflect these metatheoretical results in the Nuprl theory as derivation rules. We also show that these additions preserve Nuprl's key metatheoretical properties, in particular consistency and the congruence of Howe's computational equivalence relation. Using continuity and the fan theorem, we prove important results of Intuitionistic Mathematics: Brouwer's continuity theorem, bar induction on monotone bars and the negation of the law of excluded middle.</jats:p