Proof schemata are infinite sequences of proofs which are defined inductively. In this paper we present a general framework for schemata of terms, formulas and unifiers and define a resolution calculus for schemata of quantifier-free formulas. The new calculus generalizes and improves former approaches to schematic deduction. As an application of the method we present a schematic refutation formalizing a proof of a weak form of the pigeon hole principle.

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Abstract. In previous work, an attempt was made to apply the schematic CERES method [8] to a formal proof with an arbitrary number of Π2 cuts (a recursive proof encapsulating the infinitary pigeonhole principle) [5]. However the derived schematic refutation for the characteristic clause set of the proof could not be expressed in the formal language provided in [8]. Without this formalization a Herbrand system cannot be algorithmically extracted. In this work, we provide a restriction of the proof found in [5], the ECA-schema (Eventually Constant Assertion), or ordered infinitary pigeonhole principle, whose analysis can be completely carried out in the framework of [8], this is the first time the framework is used for proof analysis. From the refutation of the clause set and a substitution schema we construct a Herbrand system.