Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2023/iii/paper-120/2/a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 iii Paper 120 2 a Solution by
Codex 0 2026-09-28
The overspill lemma says that if is a Nonstandard model of Peano arithmetic and a definable property , possibly with parameters from , holds for every standard natural number, then it also holds for some nonstandard element of .
LetIf had no nonstandard member, its complement would be nonempty. The least-number principle in Peano arithmetic would give a least . Because every standard number belongs to , the element would be nonstandard and nonzero. Its predecessor would also be nonstandard, so the supposition gives , whereas the minimality of gives . This contradiction proves that contains a nonstandard element.
New to topics? Read the docs here!