Bounded Sort Polymorphism with Elimination Constraints

Proof assistants based on dependent type theory---such as Agda, Lean, and Rocq---employ different universes to classify types, typically combining a predicative tower for computationally relevant types with a possibly impredicative universe for proof-irrelevant propositions. Several other universes with specific logical and computational principles have been explored in the literature. In general, a universe is characterized by its sort (e.g., Type, Prop, or SProp) and, in the predicative case, by its level. To improve modularity and better avoid code duplication, sort polymorphism has recently been introduced and integrated in the Rocq prover. However, we observe that, due to its unbounded formulation, sort polymorphism is currently insufficiently expressive to abstract over valid definitions with a single polymorphic schema. Indeed, to ensure soundness of a multi-sorted type theory, the interaction between different sorts must be carefully controlled, as exemplified by the forbidden elimination of irrelevant terms to produce relevant ones. As a result, generic functions that eliminate values of inductive types from one sort to another cannot be made polymorphic; dually, polymorphic records that encapsulate attributes of different sorts cannot be defined. This lack of expressiveness also breaks the possibility to infer principal types, which is highly desirable for both metatheoretical and practical reasons. To address these issues, we extend sort polymorphism with bounds that reflect the required elimination constraints on sort variables. We present the metatheory of bounded sort polymorphism, paying particular attention to the consistency of the resulting constraint graph. We implement bounded sort polymorphism in Rocq and illustrate its benefits through concrete examples. Bounded sort polymorphism with elimination constraints is a natural and general solution that effectively addresses current limitations and fosters the development of, and practical experimentation with, multi-sorted type theories.