Overspill lemma Created 2026-09-28 Updated 2026-10-14
If a definable property in a nonstandard model of Peano arithmetic holds of every standard natural number, then it holds of some nonstandard element. Equivalently, a definable set containing the entire standard cut of a nonstandard model of arithmetic must overspill beyond it.
This is the arithmetic case of overspill, which also applies to internal subsets of nonstandard extensions in analysis.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 iii Paper 120 2 b Solution Created 2026-09-28 Updated 2026-10-03
No such formula exists. If defined precisely the standard cut of a nonstandard model of arithmetic, then for every standard natural number . The overspill lemma would produce a nonstandard satisfying , contradicting the proposed definition. Thus the standard elements form an external, nondefinable subset of every nonstandard model of Peano arithmetic.