Proof Certificates for Algebra and Their Application to Automatic Geometry Theorem Proving

Integrating decision procedures in proof assistants in a safe way is a major challenge. In this paper, we describe how, starting from Hilbert’s Nullstellensatz theorem, we combine a modified version of Buchberger’s algorithm and some reflexive techniques to get an effective procedure that automatically produces formal proofs of theorems in geometry. The method is implemented in the Coq system but, since our specialised version of Buchberger’s algorithm outputs explicit proof certificates, it could be easily adapted to other proof assistants.