Extending the HOL theorem prover with a Computer Algebra System to Reason about the Reals

In this paper we describe an environment for reasoning about the reals which combines the rigour of a theorem prover with the power of a computer algebra system. 1 Introduction Computer theorem provers are a topic of research interest in their own right. However much of their popularity stems from their application in computeraided verification, i.e. proving that designs of electronic or computer systems, programs, protocols and crypto-systems satisfy certain properties. Such proofs, as compared with the proofs one finds in mathematics books, usually involve less sophisticated central ideas, but contain far more technical Supported by the Science and Engineering Research Council, UK. y Supported by SERC grant GR/G 33837 and a grant from DSTO Australia. details and therefore tend to be much more difficult for humans to write or check without making mistakes. Hence it is appealing to let computers help. Some fundamental mathematical theories, such as arithmetic, are usually requi..