Questions tagged [forcing]
Forcing is a method first used to prove the continuum hypothesis is independent of the classical axioms of set theory
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Applications of forcing in model theory
What are the major applications of (set theoretic) forcing in model theory?
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How many closed measure zero sets are needed to cover the real line?
This question assumes familiarity with combinatorial cardinal characteristics of the continuum.
Let $\mathcal{E}$ be the $\sigma$-ideal generated by closed measure zero subsets of the real line. It ...
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On the role of $\diamondsuit$
The well-known axiom $\diamondsuit$ states that there is a sequence $\langle A_\alpha:\alpha<\omega_1\rangle$ (a $\diamondsuit$-sequence) of countable sets with the property that for any $A\...
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Why relative consistency results by forcing arguments are provable in finitistic metatheory
It is claimed in many textbooks that relative consistency results, such as $\text{Con}(\text{ZFC})\rightarrow\text{Con}(\text{ZFC}+2^{\aleph_0}\geq\aleph_2)$, are provable in the finitistic metatheory....
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What is the descriptive complexity of a set added by Cohen forcing?
I want to think of ZFC as not fully determining the powerset of the naturals, because you can add subsets with forcing and otherwise have a lot of control over the cardinality of the powerset of the ...
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Is there any forcing free proof for hard independence results?
We are forced to use forcing for almost all "hard" independence results such as: $Con(ZFC)\longrightarrow Con (ZFC+\neg CH) $. The question simply is:
Primary Question: Is there any "forcing free" ...
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Just a little absoluteness might be cheaper?
Absoluteness is a wonderful thing, but expensive consistency-strength wise. My question is, when can we get large amounts of absoluteness in specific situations for much cheaper?
Specifically, fix a ...
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Does $Add(\kappa,1)^L$ ever collapse cardinals?
In general, we know that adding a subset to a regular cardinal $\kappa$ can collapse cardinals. If, for example, there is $\gamma < \kappa$ with $2^\gamma >\kappa$, then $Add(\kappa,1)$ will ...
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A new maximality principle and its consequences
Let us consider the following maximality principle:
$(MP_*):$ For all uncountable regular cardinals $\kappa, 2^{<\kappa}=\kappa^{+}$
and all trees of height and size $\kappa$ are specialized.
It ...
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Does fast function forcing really have $\kappa$-Knaster property?
I ran into a claim concerning Woodin's fast function forcing in the following paper of Apter and Cummings which sounds no right to me:
A. Apter, J. Cummings, Blowing up the power set of the least ...
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Intermediate extension of a Prikry-Silver extension?
Prikry-Silver forcing $\mathbb{V}$ (sometimes just Silver forcing) is the forcing notion consisting of all partial functions $p:\omega\rightarrow 2$ with co-infinite domain. In "Combinatorics on ...
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Natural statements independent from true $\Pi^0_2$ sentences
I am looking for sentences in the language of first order arithmetic ($0,1,+,\cdot,\leq$) which are independent from $\Pi^0_2$ consequences of true arithmetic $\Pi^0_2\text{-}\mathsf{Th}(\mathbb{N})$. ...
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Making all cardinals countable and its HOD
Suppose that $G$ is $Col(\omega, <Ord)$-generic over $V$ and let $W=HOD^{V[G]}$. Is $CH$ true in $W$? In general, what can we say about the behaviour of the power function in $W$?
Update. Are the ...
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If there is a non-constructible real, is there an $L$-generic real?
If we assume that $\Bbb R^V\neq\Bbb R^L$, can we deduce that there is some $x\in\Bbb R^V$ which is $L$-generic?
Of course if $V$ is a generic extension of $L$ this is true, but if $V=L[0^\#]$ this is ...
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Probabilities independent of ZFC?
Hi guys,
is it possible to change the probability of an event via forcing? More precisely, is there an innocent looking question on the probability of "something" whose answer is independent of ZFC?
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Properness of quotient forcing
It is well known that if $P$ is a proper notion of forcing and $\Vdash_P \dot{Q} \text{ is proper}$ then the iteration $P \ast \dot{Q}$ is proper. Is the converse also true, i.e
Suppose that we have ...
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Does forcing with recursively pointed perfect trees add a Turing degree that is minimal over $V$?
A tree $T$ on $\omega$ is recursively pointed if it is recursive in each of its branches. We can consider a variant of Sacks forcing where the conditions are recursively pointed perfect trees ordered ...
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Different approaches to forcing
There are many different approaches to the forcing method, and I am looking for all known such approaches. So my question is:
Question 1. Which different approaches to set theoretic forcing are ...
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Symmetric extensions and class forcing
Suppose $V\models ZFC$ and $P\in V$ is a poset of forcing conditions.
It is a basic theorem in forcing that $V[G]\models ZFC$ for any generic extension by a $V$-generic filter $G$.
It is also known ...
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$\mathfrak{c}$-universal linear order
I've been told once or twice that the following holds:
There is a model of $ZFC+MA+\neg CH$ in which there is a $\mathfrak{c}$-universal linear order embedded in $(\omega^\omega, \le^\ast)$
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Iterated forcing and CH
I need some help with this theorem: if $P_\beta=\langle P_\alpha,\dot{Q}_\alpha:\alpha\leq\beta\rangle$, $\beta<\omega_2$, is a CSI of proper forcings, $P_\alpha\Vdash \lvert \dot{Q}_\alpha\rvert\...
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Inaccessible becomes successor of singular
Is it possible, starting from any large cardinal assumption, to find a countably closed forcing $\mathbb{P}$ such that for some inaccessible $\kappa$, $\Vdash_\mathbb{P} "\kappa = \lambda^+$ and $\...
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Can second-order logic identify "amorphous satisfiability"?
Recall that a set is amorphous iff it is infinite but has no partition into two infinite subsets. I'm interested in the possible structure (in the sense of model theory) which an amorphous set can ...
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Consistency of a strange (choice-wise) set of reals
Consider a set $X\subseteq \mathbb{R}$ such that
$X$ is not separable wrt its subspace topology
For all $r\in\mathbb{R}$ there exists a sequence $(x_n)_{n\in\omega} \subset X$ converging to $r$
In a ...
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Ultrafilters preserved by $\mathbb{P}$ but not by products?
Let $U\in V$ be an ultrafilter on $\omega$. We say $U$ is preserved under forcing with $\mathbb{P}$ if $\Vdash \forall x\subset \omega \ \exists Z\in U \ Z\subset x \vee Z\subset x^c$. In other words,...
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Destroying the Mahloness of a cardinal with $\kappa$.c.c. forcing
Question: Is it possible to have a Mahlo cardinal $\kappa$ such that there is a $\kappa$.c.c. forcing that makes it non-Mahlo?
If this is possible then this forcing must change the cofinality of all ...
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How many closed measure zero sets are needed to cover the real line, really?
This is a refinement of an earlier question.
This question assumes familiarity with combinatorial cardinal characteristics of the continuum.
For the reader's convenience, I reproduce below the ...
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Forcing Martin's Axiom without cardinal arithmetic
We know that if $\kappa>2^{\aleph_0}$ and $\kappa^{<\kappa}=\kappa$, then there is a c.c.c. forcing which forces $\sf MA+2^{\aleph_0}=\kappa$. Traditionally, we even start with $\sf GCH$, which ...
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Forcing, constructibility, and random functions
This question is in some ways an offshoot of my recent question about trying to explain forcing to someone (such as Scott Aaronson, whose questions have prompted my questions) encountering it for the ...
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Forcing the negation of CH without adding Cohen reals over L
Suppose CH + "there are no Cohen reals over L". Can we force the negation of CH without adding any Cohen real over L?
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Failure of Cantor-Bernstein for the Levy Collapse
Related to this question, is it possible to give an example of the failure of Cantor-Bernstein for complete embeddings of forcing notions involving the Levy Collapse $Col(\omega,<\kappa)$? Suppose ...
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How bad a proper forcing of size $\aleph_1$ can be?
This question concerns proper forcings of size $\aleph_1$. In the context of
$\rm ZFC+\neg CH$, I couldn't find any counter example to the following property. Suppose $\mathbb P$ is a proper forcing ...
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A special c.c.c forcing notion and adding minimal generic reals
This question is related to my question "Forcing with c.c.c forcing notions, Cohen reals and Random reals".
A natural way to answer Prikry's conjecture is to build a c.c.c. forcing notion which adds ...
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Inner models with all sets generic
Question: Under large cardinal axioms, what is the intersection of all inner models $M$ of ZFC such that every set in $V$ is set-generic over $M$?
Every set belongs to a generic extension of HOD, and ...
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$\text{cov}(\mathcal{M})$ vs. $\mathfrak{b}$ vs. $\mathfrak{s}$
Let me first recall some pretty standard notations:
$\text{cov}(\mathcal{M})$ is the covering number of the ideal $\mathcal{M}$ of all meager subsets of $\mathbb{R}$;
$\mathfrak{b}$ is the bounding ...
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A sequence of generic filters that does not come from an iteration
Fix a countable transitive model $M$ of ZFC.
In my answer to this question I indicated that there are forcing iterations
$((Q_\alpha:\alpha\leq\omega),(\dot P_\alpha:\alpha<\omega))$ in $M$ and ...
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On intermediate transitive models for ZFC between M an M[G]
Let $P$ be a forcing notion. Let $B(P)$ be the boolean completion of $P$ and $i : P \rightarrow B(P)$ be the corresponding dense embedding (in $B(P)^{+}$). Let $G$ be $B(P)$-generic over $M$, the ...
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Iteration of random reals
Consider two random reals $x, y$ over a transitive model $V$ of ZFC. More specifically, if $\mathcal C^V={}^\omega2$ is the Cantor space, composing the canonical homeomorphism with the projections $\...
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Is there a perfect set of ground model reals in the Cohen extension?
This question is motivated by the "interesting tidbit" in Hamkins' response here: https://mathoverflow.net/a/99025/10671, in which he demonstrates that, after Cohen forcing, there is a perfect set ...
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Mathias forcing with Ramsey ultrafilters, and Cohen reals [closed]
Edit/update: One reason this question never received an answer is because it was founded on a faulty premise! The Blaszczyk-Shelah paper I mentioned below does not prove that Mathias forcing with a ...
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$C^n$ And Forcing: Reading a Recent Paper By Kunen
While reading a recent paper by Kunen arxiv.org/abs/0912.3733, which deals with PFA and the existence of certain differentiable functions, (defined on all of $\mathbb{R}$) which map certain $\aleph_1$-...
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Infinite products of forcings
Suppose $M \subseteq N$ are models of ZFC such that $(ORD^\omega)^M = (ORD^\omega)^N$. Let $\langle P_n : n \in \omega \rangle$ be a sequence of countably closed partial orders in $M$, and let $\...
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Calculate the $\downarrow$, $\downarrow\uparrow$ and $\uparrow\downarrow$ cofinalities of the poset of nontrivial finitary partitions of $\omega$
Let $(P,\le)$ be a poset. For a point $x\in P$ let
$${\downarrow}x=\{p\in P:p\le x\}\quad\text{and}\quad{\uparrow}x=\{p\in P:x\le p\}$$be the lower and upper sets of the point $x$, and for a subset $...
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What are examples of non-equivalent virtualizations of a large cardinal?
This is a follow up to my previous question concerning virtual large cardinals, that are generally weaker axioms of infinity obtained from ordinary large cardinals through the so-called virtualization ...
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"name" for the ground model
I am a beginner of forcing, often I read from some articles something like "$p \Vdash \dot{G}$ is $P$-generic over $\check{M}$" (where $M$ is a countable transitive model, for instance).
Q1. I ...
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Universally Baire Tree Representation of Projective Sets
In Feng, Magidor, and Woodin "Universally Baire Sets of Reals", they show that if $A$ is a $\mathbf{\Pi}_2^1$ set and $U$ and $V$ are any pair of trees witnessing the universal baireness of $A$, then ...
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Large cardinals and mild extensions
It is known that for many large cardinals $\kappa$ (like weakly compact, measurable,...) , $\kappa$ remains large of the same type after forcings of size $<\kappa$. Now the questions are:
Question ...
user36136
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Absoluteness and the scale property for $Π^2_2$ or $Σ^2_2$
Under the diamond principle $◊$ and large cardinal axioms, which of the two pointclasses $Π^2_2$ or $Σ^2_2$ is expected to have the scale property?
Because conditional $Σ^2_2$ absoluteness under $◊$ ...
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Can all uncountable (but small) families of sets with positive measure have an uncountable subfamily with an intersection of positive measure?
My general question was is it consistent that any uncountable family of less than $\mathrm{non}(\mathcal{N})$ sets, each with positive measure, has an uncountable subfamily $\mathcal{F}$ s.t. $\bigcap ...
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Unbounded set in $V[G]$ has an unbounded subset in $V$?
This is a repost of the same question on math.SE, which received several comments but no answers/comments on the first question.
Suppose $\kappa$ is a cardinal preserved in the generic extension $V[G]...
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