Additively indecomposable ordinal

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In set theory, a branch of mathematics, an additively indecomposable ordinal is any ordinal number that is not 0
such that for any , < , we have + < . Additively indecomposable ordinals are also called gamma numbers.
The additively indecomposable ordinals are precisely those ordinals of the form for some ordinal .
From the continuity of addition in its right argument, we get that if < and is additively indecomposable, then
+ = .
Obviously 1 is additively indecomposable, since 0+0 < 1. No nite ordinal other than 1 is additively indecomposable.
Also, is additively indecomposable, since the sum of two nite ordinals is still nite. More generally, every innite
cardinal is additively indecomposable.
The class of additively indecomposable numbers is closed and unbounded. Its enumerating function is normal, given
by .
The derivative of (which enumerates its xed points) is written . Ordinals of this form (that is, xed points of


) are called epsilon numbers. The number 0 = is therefore the rst xed point of the sequence , , , . . .

1 Multiplicatively indecomposable
A similar notion can be dened for multiplication. If is greater than the multiplicative identity, 1, and < and
< imply < , then is multiplicatively indecomposable. 2 is multiplicatively indecomposable since 11 = 1 <

2. Besides 2, the multiplicatively indecomposable ordinals (also called delta numbers) are those of the form for
any ordinal . Every epsilon number is multiplicatively indecomposable; and every multiplicatively indecomposable
ordinal (other than 2) is additively indecomposable. The delta numbers (other than 2) are the same as the prime
ordinals that are limits.

2 See also
Ordinal arithmetic

3 References
Sierpiski, Wacaw (1958), Cardinal and ordinal numbers., Polska Akademia Nauk Monograe Matematy-
czne, 34, Warsaw: Pastwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, MR 0095787

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