On the uncountability of $\mathbb{R}$

Dag Normann; Sam Sanders

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arXiv · 2007.07560

On the uncountability of $\mathbb{R}$

Dag Normann·Sam Sanders

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Abstract

Cantor's first set theory paper (1874) establishes the uncountability of $\mathbb{R}$. We study this most basic mathematical fact formulated in the language of higher-order arithmetic. In particular, we investigate the logical and computational properties of NIN (resp. NBI), i.e. the third-order statement: there is no injection (resp. bijection) from $[0,1]$ to $\mathbb{N}$. Working in Kohlenbach's higher-order Reverse Mathematics, we show that NIN and NBI are hard to prove in terms of (conventional) comprehension axioms, while many basic theorems, like Arzela's convergence theorem for the Riemann integral (1885), are shown to imply NIN and/or NBI. Working in Kleene's higher-order computability theory based on S1-S9, we show that the following fourth-order process based on NIN is similarly hard to compute: for a given $[0,1]\rightarrow \mathbb{N}$-function, find reals in the unit interval that map to the same natural number.

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Dag Normann, Sam Sanders. 2020-07-15. On the uncountability of $\mathbb{R}$. https://arxiv.org/abs/2007.07560

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