How to state fundamental theorem of arithmetic in a formal way?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the formalization of the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic using first-order logic. Participants explore how to express the theorem's concepts, such as prime factorization, products, and rearrangements, in a precise mathematical language.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Mathematical reasoning

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that Hardy's informal statement of the theorem is clear but does not adequately reflect its structure in first-order logic, seeking a formal restatement using logical elements.
  • Another participant argues that Hardy's statement is already sufficiently formal, proposing that a prime can be viewed as a product of one prime and suggesting a rephrasing to include "either as a prime or the product of two or more prime numbers."
  • A third participant expresses difficulty in translating Hardy's statement into first-order logic, noting that the concepts of "rearrangement" and "product" are particularly challenging to formalize.
  • One participant provides a formal expression of the theorem, stating that for every positive integer, there exists a prime factorization, and discusses the uniqueness of this factorization in terms of permutations.
  • Another participant mentions that excluding the number 1 is unnecessary and suggests relaxing the condition to allow for "zero or more primes."

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants exhibit differing views on the formality of Hardy's statement and the challenges of translating it into first-order logic. There is no consensus on a single formalization, and the discussion remains unresolved regarding the best approach to express the theorem.

Contextual Notes

The discussion highlights limitations in translating informal mathematical language into formal logic, particularly concerning the definitions of key concepts like "product" and "rearrangement." The participants acknowledge that proper definitions could potentially simplify the translation process.

julypraise
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I think a best informal way to state the theorem is Hardy's:
every positive integer (except the number 1) can be represented in exactly one way apart from rearrangement as a product of one or more primes

But clearly, this statement does not reveal the structure of the statement in the formal language the first order theory. Can you re-state this theorem by only using the first order language elements such as "for all" "there exists" and variable and so on? You can obviously use sets.

I'm having trouble especially on stating the concepts of "a product" and "rearrangement" in the formal language.
 
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julypraise said:
I think a best informal way to state the theorem is Hardy's:
every positive integer (except the number 1) can be represented in exactly one way apart from rearrangement as a product of one or more primes

But clearly, this statement does not reveal the structure of the statement in the formal language the first order theory. Can you re-state this theorem by only using the first order language elements such as "for all" "there exists" and variable and so on? You can obviously use sets.

I'm having trouble especially on stating the concepts of "a product" and "rearrangement" in the formal language.
I don't see what is informal about Hardy's statement of the theorem, unless you can't view a prime to be a product of one prime. But your objections could be circumvented by language such as "either as a prime or the product of two or more prime numbers apart from the rearrangement of the order of the primes". IMHO Hardy's statement of the theorem is concise and formal though since it clearly defines a prime to be a product and "product" and "rearrangement" have clear meaning in their context.
 
Last edited:
@ramsey2879

Basically, my intention is to clarify all the elements by translating to the first order theory language. As you know any (mathematical) statement can be translated to a statement such as "[itex]\forall x\in S \forall y \in K \exists b\dots[/itex] as the fist order theory is implemented set theoretic elements.

In my level of mathematical maturity, I don't directly see this first order language structure of the Hardy's, i.e., I can't directly translate this Hardy's statement into the pure first order theory sentence in my mind, therby the meaning is not clarified to perfection but rather is possessed within a some intuition level vague to some extent.

It'd be burdensome to translate the statement into the pure first order one, but I think it might be that the translation can be shortend if some set theoretic definitions are properly applied. Anyway I can't do it myself. Especially, the concpet of 'rearrangement' and 'product(multiplication)', I can't dare to think of the first order language structure of them.

Note: obviosuly translation into the pure first order language will be really long, but as you know it can be shortened by using proper definitions (summariziation of some sentences or parts of a sentence). Right?
 
For every positive integer n, there exists a prime factorization of n. If [itex]n = \prod_{i=1}^s p_i^{e_i} = \prod_{j=1}^t q_j^{f_j}[/itex] are two prime factorizations, then [itex]s=t[/itex], and there is a permutation [itex]\sigma[/itex] on {1, ..., s} such that [itex]q_i = p_{\sigma(i)}[/itex] and [itex]f_i = e_{\sigma(i)}[/itex].

By the way, there's no need to exclude 1; you just need to relax "one or more primes" to "zero or more primes".
 
@Hurkyl

Thank you very much. Your solution is very elegant and careful by the way.
 

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