Expressing Infinity in Finite Sentences

A sponsorship by the Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF) has enabled a new research group to be established at the Technical University of Vienna: Stefan Hetzl wants to link mathematical proof theory and language theory together. Infinitely many numbers, infinitely large quantities, infinitely many steps: In mathematics, one has to deal a lot with infinity. Nevertheless, mathematical books have a finite number of pages. How can one talk about infinity using finite expressions' For that reason, the mathematician Stefan Hetzl from the Technical University of Vienna (Institute of Discrete Mathematics and Geometry) wants to connect proof theory, a branch of logic, together with formal language theory. It is anticipated that important new results will be obtained for computer sciences from this link - because infinity lurks within this subject, for instance if you wish to determine whether a computer program will be able to cope with any input taken from an infinite number of possibilities. The Vienna Science, Research and Technology Fund (WWTF) is supporting Stefan Hetzl's research project as part of the "Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators" program with a total of 1.5 million euros. Hetzl will use this money over the next few years to establish his own research group at the Technical University of Vienna.