Prime Factorization in Models of PV$_1$
Assuming that no family of polynomial-size Boolean circuits can factorize a constant fraction of all products of two $n$-bit primes, we show that the bounded arithmetic theory $\text{PV}_1$, even when augmented by the sharply bounded choice scheme $BB(Σ^b_0)$, cannot prove that every number has some prime divisor. By the completeness theorem, it follows that under this assumption there is a model $M$ of $\text{PV}_1$ that contains a nonstandard number $m$ which has no prime factorization.
Authors
- Ondřej Ježil
Publication Details
- Journal
- Logical Methods in Computer Science
- Published
- 2026-04-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.46298/lmcs-22(2:1)2026
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Mathematical Theories
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Univerzita Karlova v Praze
- Grantová Agentura, Univerzita Karlova
- University of Warwick