Following our [6], though with somewhat different methods here, further variants of Goodstein sequences are introduced in terms of parameterized Ackermann–Péter functions. Each of the sequences is shown to terminate, and the proof-theoretic strengths of these facts are calibrated by means of ordinal assignments, yielding independence results for a range of theories: PRA, PA, $\Sigma ^1_1$ -DC $_0$ , ATR $_0$ , up to ID $_1$ . The key is the so-called “Hardy hierarchy” of proof-theoretic bounding finctions, providing a uniform method for associating Goodstein-type sequences with parameterized normal form representations of positive integers.

In this article the lightface ${\rm{\Pi }}_1^1$-Comprehension axiom is shown to be proof-theoretically strong even over ${\rm{RCA}}_0^{\rm{*}}$, and we calibrate the proof-theoretic ordinals of weak fragments of the theory ${\rm{I}}{{\rm{D}}_1}$ of positive inductive definitions over natural numbers. Conjunctions of negative and positive formulas in the transfinite induction axiom of ${\rm{I}}{{\rm{D}}_1}$ are shown to be weak, and disjunctions are strong. Thus we draw a boundary line between predicatively reducible and impredicative fragments of ${\rm{I}}{{\rm{D}}_1}$.

We define a functional interpretation of KPω using Howard’s primitive recursive tree functionals of finite type and associated terms. We prove that the Σ-ordinal of KPω is the least ordinal not given by a closed term of the ground type of the trees (the Bachmann-Howard ordinal). We also extend KPω to a second-order theory with Δ1-comprehension and strict-${\rm{\Pi }}_1^1$ reflection and show that the Σ-ordinal of this theory is still the Bachmann-Howard ordinal. It is also argued that the second-order theory is Σ1-conservative over KPω.