Nimber multiplication and division #
The nim product a * b
is recursively defined as the least nimber not equal to any
a' * b + a * b' + a' * b'
for a' < a
and b' < b
. When endowed with this operation, the nimbers
form a field.
It's possible to show the existence of the nimber inverse implicitly via the simplicity theorem.
Instead, we employ the explicit formula given in [On Numbers And Games][conway2001] (p. 56), which
uses mutual induction and mimicks the definition for the surreal inverse. This definition invAux
"accidentally" gives the inverse of 0
as 1
, which the real inverse corrects.
Todo #
- Show the nimbers are algebraically closed.
Nimber multiplication #
Nimber multiplication is recursively defined so that a * b
is the smallest nimber not equal to
a' * b + a * b' + a' * b'
for a' < a
and b' < b
.
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Nimber division #
The nimber inverse a⁻¹
is mutually recursively defined as the smallest nimber not in the set
s = invSet a
, which itself is defined as the smallest set with 0 ∈ s
and
(1 + (a + a') * b) / a' ∈ s
for 0 < a' < a
and b ∈ s
.
This preliminary definition "accidentally" satisfies invAux 0 = 1
, which the real inverse
corrects. The lemma inv_eq_invAux
can be used to transfer between the two.
Instances For
Equations
- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.