Bounds on the Total Coefficient Size of Nullstellensatz Proofs of the Pigeonhole Principle and the Ordering Principle

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the total coefficient size of Nullstellensatz proofs. We show that Nullstellensatz proofs of the pigeonhole principle on $n$ pigeons require total coefficient size $2^{\Omega(n)}$ and that there exist Nullstellensatz proofs of the ordering principle on $n$ elements with total coefficient size $2^n - n$.