Minkowski S Linear Forms Theorem In Elementary Function Arithmetic

Minkowski's Linear Forms Theorem in Elementary Function Arithmetic

A classical question in formal logic is "how much mathematics do we need to know in order to prove a given theorem?" Of particular interest is Harvey Friedman's grand conjecture: that every known mathematical theorem involving only finitary mathematical objects can be proven from Elementary Function Arithmetic (EFA)—a fragment of Peano Arithmetic. If Friedman's conjecture is correct, this would imply that Fermat's Last Theorem is derivable from the axioms of EFA. The vast task of proving Fermat's Last Theorem from the axioms of EFA seems to require certain theorems on convex polytopes and an important corollary: Minkowski's Linear Forms Theorem. I show that certain theorems of convex geometry—e.g. representation of polytopes both in vertex form and as the intersection of half-spaces, monotonicity of volume, the existence of a separating plane between disjoint polytopes, and Minkowski's Linear Forms Theorem—can be both interpreted and derived in EFA, assuming the well-definedness of volume of a convex polytope along with one other technical lemma.

The Mathematics of Minkowski Space-Time

This book arose out of original research on the extension of well-established applications of complex numbers related to Euclidean geometry and to the space-time symmetry of two-dimensional Special Relativity. The system of hyperbolic numbers is extensively studied, and a plain exposition of space-time geometry and trigonometry is given. Commutative hypercomplex systems with four unities are studied and attention is drawn to their interesting properties.

Encyclopaedia of Mathematics