The Kruskal–Friedman theorem asserts: in any infinite sequence of finite trees with ordinal labels, some tree can be embedded into a later one, by an embedding that respects a certain gap condition. This strengthening of the original Kruskal theorem has been proved by I. Kříž (Ann. Math. 1989), in confirmation of a conjecture due to H. Friedman, who had established the result for finitely many labels. It provides one of the strongest mathematical examples for the independence phenomenon from Gödel’s theorems. The gap condition is particularly relevant due to its connection with the graph minor theorem of N. Robertson and P. Seymour. In the present article, we consider a uniform version of the Kruskal–Friedman theorem, which extends the result from trees to general recursive data types. Our main theorem shows that this uniform version is equivalent both to $\Pi ^1_1$-transfinite recursion and to a minimal bad sequence principle of Kříž, over the base theory $\mathsf {RCA_0}$ from reverse mathematics. This sheds new light on the role of infinity in finite combinatorics.

The notion of countable well order admits an alternative definition in terms of embeddings between initial segments. We use the framework of reverse mathematics to investigate the logical strength of this definition and its connection with Fraïssé’s conjecture, which has been proved by Laver. We also fill a small gap in Shore’s proof that Fraïssé’s conjecture implies arithmetic transfinite recursion over $\mathbf {RCA}_0$, by giving a new proof of $\Sigma ^0_2$-induction.

We extract quantitative information (specifically, a rate of metastability in the sense of Terence Tao) from a proof due to Kazuo Kobayasi and Isao Miyadera, which shows strong convergence for Cesàro means of non-expansive maps on Banach spaces.

We present a new manifestation of Gödel’s second incompleteness theorem and discuss its foundational significance, in particular with respect to Hilbert’s program. Specifically, we consider a proper extension of Peano arithmetic ($\mathbf {PA}$) by a mathematically meaningful axiom scheme that consists of $\Sigma ^0_2$-sentences. These sentences assert that each computably enumerable ($\Sigma ^0_1$-definable without parameters) property of finite binary trees has a finite basis. Since this fact entails the existence of polynomial time algorithms, it is relevant for computer science. On a technical level, our axiom scheme is a variant of an independence result due to Harvey Friedman. At the same time, the meta-mathematical properties of our axiom scheme distinguish it from most known independence results: Due to its logical complexity, our axiom scheme does not add computational strength. The only known method to establish its independence relies on Gödel’s second incompleteness theorem. In contrast, Gödel’s theorem is not needed for typical examples of $\Pi ^0_2$-independence (such as the Paris–Harrington principle), since computational strength provides an extensional invariant on the level of $\Pi ^0_2$-sentences.

In previous work, the author has shown that $\Pi ^1_1$-induction along $\mathbb N$ is equivalent to a suitable formalization of the statement that every normal function on the ordinals has a fixed point. More precisely, this was proved for a representation of normal functions in terms of Girard’s dilators, which are particularly uniform transformations of well orders. The present paper works on the next type level and considers uniform transformations of dilators, which are called 2-ptykes. We show that $\Pi ^1_2$-induction along $\mathbb N$ is equivalent to the existence of fixed points for all 2-ptykes that satisfy a certain normality condition. Beyond this specific result, the paper paves the way for the analysis of further $\Pi ^1_4$-statements in terms of well ordering principles.

Harvey Friedman’s gap condition on embeddings of finite labelled trees plays an important role in combinatorics (proof of the graph minor theorem) and mathematical logic (strong independence results). In the present paper we show that the gap condition can be reconstructed from a small number of well-motivated building blocks: It arises via iterated applications of a uniform Kruskal theorem.

In a recent paper by M. Rathjen and the present author it has been shown that the statement “every normal function has a derivative” is equivalent to $\Pi ^1_1$-bar induction. The equivalence was proved over $\mathbf {ACA_0}$, for a suitable representation of normal functions in terms of dilators. In the present paper, we show that the statement “every normal function has at least one fixed point” is equivalent to $\Pi ^1_1$-induction along the natural numbers.

We show that arithmetical transfinite recursion is equivalent to a suitable formalization of the following: For every ordinal α there exists an ordinal β such that $1 + \beta \cdot \left( {\beta + \alpha } \right)$ (ordinal arithmetic) admits an almost order preserving collapse into β. Arithmetical comprehension is equivalent to a statement of the same form, with $\beta \cdot \alpha$ at the place of $\beta \cdot \left( {\beta + \alpha } \right)$. We will also characterize the principles that any set is contained in a countable coded ω-model of arithmetical transfinite recursion and arithmetical comprehension, respectively.