Let U be a consistent axiomatic theory containing Robinson's Q [TMRUT, p. 51]. In order for the results below to be of interest, U must be powerful enough to carry out certain arguments involving versions of the “derivability conditions,” DC(i) to DC(iii) below, of [HBGM, p. 285], [F60, Theorem 4.7], or [L55]. Thus it must contain, at least, mathematical induction for formulas whose prenex normal forms contain at most existential quantifiers. For convenience, U is assumed also to contain symbols for primitive recursive functions and relations, and their defining equations. One of these is used to form the standard provability predicate, Prov ˹A˺, “there exists a number which is the Gödel number of a proof of A.” Upper corners denote numerals for Gödel numbers for the enclosed sentences, and parentheses are often omitted in their presence.

This paper contains some results concerning the relation between the sentence A, and the sentence Prov ˹A˺ in the Lindenbaum Sentence Algebra (LSA) for U, the Boolean algebra induced by the pre-order relation A ≤ B ⇔ ⊦A → B. Half of the answer is provided by a theorem of Löb [L55], which states that ⊦Prov ˹A˺ → A ⇔ ⊦A. Hence, in the presence of DC(iii), below, it is never true that Prov ˹A˺ < A in the LSA. However, there is a large and interesting set of sentences, denoted here by Γ, for which A < Prov ⌜A⌝.