Epsilon Numbers and Cantor Normal Form

Abstract

An epsilon number is a transfinite number which is a fixed point of an exponential map: ωϵ = ϵ. The formalization of the concept is done with use of the tetration of ordinals (Knuth's arrow notation, ↑). Namely, the ordinal indexing of epsilon numbers is defined as follows:

and for limit ordinal λ:

Tetration stabilizes at ω:

Every ordinal number α can be uniquely written as

where κ is a natural number, n1, n2, …, nk are positive integers, and β1 > β2 > … > βκ are ordinal numbers (βκ = 0). This decomposition of α is called the Cantor Normal Form of α.