Edward Haeusler

We present a categorical/denotational semantics for the Lambek Syntactic Calculus, indeed for a λlD-typed version Curry-Howard isomorphic to it. The main novelty of our approach is an abstract noncommutative construction with right and left adjoints, called sequential product. It is defined through a hierarchical structure of categories reflecting the implicit permission to sequence expressions and the inductive construction of compound expressions. We claim that Lambek's noncommutative product corresponds to a noncommutative bi-endofunctor into a category, which encloses all categories of such hierarchical structure. A soundness theorem for LSC is shown with respect to this semantical framework.

Sambin [6] proved the normalization theorem for GL, the modal logic of provability, in a sequent calculus version called by him GLS. His proof does not take into account the concept of reduction, commonly used in normalization proofs. Bellini [1], on the other hand, gave a normalization proof for GL using reductions. Indeed, Sambin's proof is a decision procedure which builds cut-free proofs. In this work we formalize this procedure as a recursive function and prove its recursiveness in an arithmetically formalizable way, concluding that the normalization of GL can be formalized in PA. MSC: 03F05, 03B35, 03B45