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Questions about very fat sets

If $\kappa$ is a regular uncountable cardinal, we call a set $S\subseteq\kappa$ fat if for every $\alpha<\kappa$ and every club $C\subseteq\kappa$, there is a closed subset of $S\cap C$ of ...
Hannes Jakob's user avatar
  • 1,799
1 vote
1 answer
121 views

CH and the existence of a Borel partition of small cardinality

Say $\kappa$ is small if any set of cardinality $\kappa$ has outer-Lebesgue measure zero. We know that, in the Cohen model of ZFC where CH is false, there is a Borel partition of the unit interval of ...
Y.Z.'s user avatar
  • 231
8 votes
1 answer
324 views

A surjection from square onto power: Is limit Hartogs/Lindenbaum number necessary?

I am considering the construction in [Peng—Shen—Wu] in which the authors show the consistency of a set $X$ such that there is a surjection from $X^2$ onto the power set of $X$ (henceforth $\mathscr{P}(...
Calliope Ryan-Smith's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
457 views

The existence of definable subsets of finite sets in NBG

This question is motivated by my preceding MO-question on (in)consistency of NBG theory of classes. Let $\varphi(x,Y,C)$ be a formula of NBG with free parameters $x,Y,C$ and all quantifiers running ...
Taras Banakh's user avatar
  • 41.8k
16 votes
1 answer
2k views

A contradiction in the Set Theory of von Neumann–Bernays–Gödel?

Thinking on the theory NBG (of von Neumann–Bernays–Gödel) I arrived at the conclusion that it is contradictory using an argument resembling Russell's Paradox. I am sure that I made a mistake in my ...
Taras Banakh's user avatar
  • 41.8k
6 votes
1 answer
603 views

A strong form of the Axiom Schema of Replacement

Let us consider the following stronger version of the Axiom Schema of Replacement (let us call it the Axiom Schema of Replacement for Definable Relations): Let $\varphi$ be any formula in the language ...
Taras Banakh's user avatar
  • 41.8k
13 votes
0 answers
325 views

$\mathsf{AC}_\mathsf{WO}+\mathsf{AC}^\mathsf{WO}\Rightarrow \mathsf{AC}$?

Let $\mathsf{AC}_\mathsf{WO}$: Every well-orderable family of non-empty sets has a choice function. $\mathsf{AC}^\mathsf{WO}$: Every family of non-empty well-orderable sets has a choice function. My ...
Lorenzo's user avatar
  • 2,286
3 votes
0 answers
157 views

The "absolute" version of the Axiom Schema of Replacement in ZFC

The well-known Axiom Schema of Replacement in ZFC says that for any formula $\varphi$ of the Set Theory with free variables among $w_1,\dots,w_n,A,x,y$ the following holds: $$\forall w_1,\dots,w_n\;\...
Taras Banakh's user avatar
  • 41.8k
11 votes
3 answers
994 views

Why can we assume a ctm of ZFC exists in forcing

Following Kunen's book, it makes clear that countable transitive models (ctm) exist only for a finite list of axioms of ZFC. So, why can we assume a ctm of the whole ZFC axioms exists and use it as ...
Guest's user avatar
  • 111
3 votes
0 answers
79 views

Is $\mathfrak q_0$ equal to the smallest cardinality of a second-countable $T_1$-space which is not a $Q$-space?

A topological space $X$ is a $Q$-space if every subset of $X$ is of type $G_\delta$. The smallest cardinality of a metrizable separable space which is not a $Q$-space is denoted by $\mathfrak q_0$ and ...
Taras Banakh's user avatar
  • 41.8k
4 votes
1 answer
194 views

Is every first-countable Lindelof space of cardinality $<\mathfrak c$ a $Q$-space under MA?

Definition. A topological space $X$ is a $Q$-space if every subset of $X$ is of type $G_\delta$. It is clear that every $Q$-space has countable pseudocharacter (= all singletons are $G_\delta$) and is ...
Taras Banakh's user avatar
  • 41.8k
5 votes
1 answer
197 views

The cardinal characteristic $\mathfrak r_{(X,f)}$ of a dynamical system

I am interested in a "dynamical" modification of the cardinals $\mathfrak r$ and $\mathfrak r_\sigma$, well-known in the theory of cardinal characteristics of the continuum. For a compact ...
Taras Banakh's user avatar
  • 41.8k
7 votes
3 answers
439 views

Dedekind-"finiteness" for arbitrary limit cardinals

In $\mathbf{ZF}$, it is possible for a set $A$ to be infinite but not to admit a countable set. In other words, for any $\alpha\in\omega$, there is an injection from $\alpha$ into $A$, but there is no ...
Hannes Jakob's user avatar
  • 1,799
1 vote
0 answers
289 views

About Whitehead's problem

Hi I am new to proofs of consistency and independence with ZFC of some claims. I have read "The uses of set theory" by Judith Roitman, in that article it is mentioned that the Whitehead ...
Gabriel Medina's user avatar
11 votes
0 answers
256 views

Existence of a strong antichain

Call an antichain (set of pairwise incomparable elements) $A$ of a poset $P$ strong if for every $p,q \in P$ with $p \leq q$ there exists an $a\in A$ which is comparable with both $p$ and $q$. ...
Attila Joó's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
975 views

Implications of the existence of a pair of surjective functions, without Axiom of Choice

The classical Cantor-Schroder-Bernstein Theorem says that there exists a bijective function $X\leftrightarrow Y$ if and only if there exist injective functions $X\hookrightarrow Y$ and $Y\...
Taras Banakh's user avatar
  • 41.8k
5 votes
1 answer
325 views

Is Axiom of Choice equivalent to its version for families of sets, indexed by ordinals? [duplicate]

Is Axiom of Choice equivalent to the following statement? Axiom of Ordinal Choice: For any ordinal $\lambda$ and any indexed family of sets $(X_\alpha)_{\alpha\in\lambda}$ there exists a function $...
Taras Banakh's user avatar
  • 41.8k
5 votes
0 answers
175 views

Selecting an almost disjoint family in a given family of sets

A family $\mathcal A$ of infinite subsets of $\omega$ is called almost disjoint if for any distinct sets $A,B\in\mathcal A$ the intersection $A\cap B$ is finite. Let $\mathfrak a'$ be the largest ...
Taras Banakh's user avatar
  • 41.8k
2 votes
1 answer
140 views

What is the smallest cardinality of a base of an ultrafilter on $\omega$ related to an almost disjoint family of cardinality $\mathfrak c$?

Let $(A_\alpha)_{\alpha\in\mathfrak c}$ be an almost disjoint family of infinite subsets of $\omega$. The almost disjointness of the family means that $A_\alpha\cap A_\beta$ is finite for any ordinals ...
Taras Banakh's user avatar
  • 41.8k
4 votes
1 answer
180 views

What is the smallest cardinality of a maximal ultrafamily of infinite subsets of $\omega$?

A family $\mathcal U$ of infinite subsets of $\omega$ is called an ultrafamily if for any sets $U,V\in\mathcal U$ one of the sets $U\setminus V$, $U\cap V$ or $V\setminus U$ is finite. By the ...
Taras Banakh's user avatar
  • 41.8k
5 votes
1 answer
524 views

A topologically transitive dynamical system without dense orbits

By a dynamical system I understand a pair $(K,G)$ consisting a compact Hausdorff space and a subgroup $G$ of the homeomorphism group of $K$. We say that a dynamical system $(K,G)$ $\bullet$ is ...
Taras Banakh's user avatar
  • 41.8k
11 votes
1 answer
704 views

Is $\mathfrak j_{2:1}=\mathfrak{j}_{2:2}$ in ZFC?

A function $f:\omega\to\omega$ is called $\bullet$ 2-to-1 if $|f^{-1}(y)|\le 2$ for any $y\in\omega$; $\bullet$ almost injective if the set $\{y\in \omega:|f^{-1}(y)|>1\}$ is finite. Let us ...
Taras Banakh's user avatar
  • 41.8k
3 votes
0 answers
122 views

The existence of $T$-ultrafilters in ZFC

Looking at this MO-problem, my collegue Igor Protasov suggested to ask on Mathoverflow his old question on $T$-ultrafilters hoping that somebody on MO can solve it. First I recall the necessary ...
Taras Banakh's user avatar
  • 41.8k
11 votes
1 answer
628 views

A new cardinal characteristic (related to partitions)?

In this post I will discuss some cardinal characteristic of the continuum, related to partitions of $\omega$ and would like to know if it is equal to some known cardinal characteristic. By a partition ...
Taras Banakh's user avatar
  • 41.8k
3 votes
1 answer
140 views

Is $\mathfrak p=\omega_1$ equivalent to the existence of a Hausdorff gap without infinite pseudointersection?

Given two set $A,B$ we write $A\subset^* B$ if the complement $A\setminus B$ is infinite. A Hausdorff gap is a transfinite family $\langle A_\alpha,B_\alpha\rangle_{\alpha\in\omega_1}$ of infinite ...
Taras Banakh's user avatar
  • 41.8k
6 votes
0 answers
375 views

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 ...
Rahman. M's user avatar
  • 2,381
6 votes
1 answer
626 views

Can $H_{\omega_1}$ and $H_{\omega_2}$ be in bi-interpretation synonymy?

This question concerns the possibility of the bi-interpretation synonymy of the structure $\langle H_{\omega_1},\in\rangle$, consisting of the hereditarily countable sets, and the structure $\langle ...
Joel David Hamkins's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
513 views

Smallest size of a non-measurable set of reals

The question is pretty much the title. I'm wondering if anything is known about the smallest size $\kappa$ of a non-measurable subset of the real numbers (regarding the Lebesgue measure). Since we ...
Hannes Jakob's user avatar
  • 1,799
1 vote
1 answer
139 views

Complexity of a proper class of extendibles

If consistent, is existence of a proper class of extendible cardinals provably equivalent to a $Σ^V_5$ statement? Recall that in ZFC, a cardinal $κ$ is extendible iff for every $λ>κ$ there is an ...
Dmytro Taranovsky's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
396 views

Is there a universally meager air space?

Let $\mathcal P$ be a family of nonempty subsets of a topological space $X$. A subset $D\subset X$ is called $\mathcal P$-generic if for any $P\in\mathcal P$ the intersection $P\cap D$ is not empty. A ...
Taras Banakh's user avatar
  • 41.8k
9 votes
1 answer
483 views

Relationship between AC, WO, and Zorn's lemma in ZF-Powerset

In regular ZF, AC, WO, and Zorn's Lemma are equivalent, but every proof I know (of the implication AC -> WO and AC -> Zorn) uses the axiom of choice on the powerset of X (where X is the Set which is ...
Hannes Jakob's user avatar
  • 1,799
4 votes
1 answer
223 views

K-analytic spaces whose any compact subset is countable

A regular topological space $X$ is called $\bullet$ analytic if $X$ is a continuous image of a Polish space; $\bullet$ $K$-analytic if $X$ is the image of a Polish space $P$ under an upper ...
Taras Banakh's user avatar
  • 41.8k
2 votes
0 answers
120 views

Two small uncountable cardinals related to Q-sets

A subset $A$ of the real line is called a Q-set if any subset of of $A$ is of type $F_\sigma$ in $A$. Let $\mathfrak q_0$ be the smallest cardinality of a subset $X\subset\mathbb R$ which is not a Q-...
Taras Banakh's user avatar
  • 41.8k
7 votes
0 answers
177 views

Asymptotically discrete ultrafilters

Definition 1. A ultrafilter $\mathcal U$ on $\omega$ is called discrete (resp. nowhere dense) if for any injective map $f:\omega\to \mathbb R$ there is a set $U\in\mathcal U$ whose image $f(U)$ is a ...
Taras Banakh's user avatar
  • 41.8k
8 votes
0 answers
238 views

Metrically Ramsey ultrafilters

On Thuesday I was in Kyiv and discussed with Igor Protasov the system of MathOverflow and its power in answering mathematical problems. After this discussion Igor Protasov suggested to ask on MO the ...
Taras Banakh's user avatar
  • 41.8k
33 votes
1 answer
2k views

Is it still an open problem whether $\mathbb{R}^\omega$ is normal in the box topology?

On page 205 of his Topology textbook, James Munkres made an interesting remark: It is not known whether $\mathbb{R}^\omega$ is normal in the box topology. Mary-Ellen Rudin has shown that the answer ...
Keshav Srinivasan's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
402 views

Variants of reflection principle

This question concerns two definitions of the reflection principle. One of them known to be a consequence of the other one. I would like to understand if the reverse is true. Let us state the first ...
Rahman. M's user avatar
  • 2,381
4 votes
2 answers
477 views

Experiments physically performable in a finite amount of time whose results are independent of ZFC [closed]

In On independence and large cardinal strength of physical statements we see that their are physical statements which are independent of ZFC, and even strong cardinal axioms. There were many answers, ...
Christopher King's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
799 views

What things does ZFC not know if it knows?

The statement "ZFC $\vdash 0=1$" is independent of ZFC due to Goedel's second incompleteness theorem. That got me wondering, for what other statements $\phi$ is "ZFC $\vdash \phi$" independent of ZFC? ...
Christopher King's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
273 views

$\omega_2$-sequence of Suslin trees

Is it possible to have an $\omega_2$-length sequence of ($\omega_1$-)Suslin trees such that if one builds the product of finitely many trees in that sequence, one ends up with a Suslin tree again? ...
Stefan Hoffelner's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
219 views

Wondering if the following set-theoretic assertion is known to be consistent w/ ZFC

I'm wondering about the following (I've written a couple set theory papers but don't consider myself a set theorist, so please keep this in mind when answering): Is it consistent w/ ZFC that there ...
Greg's user avatar
  • 27
32 votes
1 answer
2k views

Should axiomatic set theory be translated into graph theory?

Recently I saw the abstract of a paper by Nash-Williams: ``Should axiomatic set theory be translated into graph theory?''. The abstract, taken from Mathscinet says the following: The author ...
Mohammad Golshani's user avatar
32 votes
1 answer
2k views

Bidi: A new cardinal characteristic of the continuum?

This question assumes familiarity with combinatorial cardinal characteristics of the continuum. Identify an infinite set $a\subseteq\mathbb{N}$ with its increasing enumeration. Thus, for each natural ...
Boaz Tsaban's user avatar
  • 3,104
10 votes
2 answers
3k views

Independence of the countable axiom of choice

How does one proove that the Countable axiom of choice is not provable in ZF?Is there any brief proof?Does the Independence of the countable axiom of choice implies the independence of the axiom of ...
Ilias kaperonis's user avatar
9 votes
2 answers
1k views

Relationship between fragments of the axiom of choice and the dependent choice principles

The dependent choice principle ${\rm DC}_\kappa$ states that if $S$ is a nonempty set and $R$ is a binary relation such that for every $s\in S^{\lt\kappa}$, there is $x\in S$ with $sRx$, then there ...
Victoria Gitman's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
425 views

On Consistency of an Existence

Let $\omega \leq \kappa <2^{\omega}$ , $\omega \leq\lambda \leq \kappa$ and $D(\kappa, \lambda)$ be the statement: For all $ \mathfrak{B} \subseteq \mathbf{P}(\omega)$ with $|\mathfrak{B}|=\kappa$...
Rahman. M's user avatar
  • 2,381
16 votes
1 answer
1k views

Kaplansky's conjecture and Martin's axiom

Recall Kaplansky's conjecture which states that every algebra homomorphism from the Banach algebra C(X) (where X is a compact Hausdorff topological space) into any other Banach algebra, is ...
Mohammad Golshani's user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
489 views

Intuition behind Pincus' "injectively bounded statements"

In David Pincus, Zermelo-Fraenkel Consistency Results by Fraenkel-Mostowski Methods, The Journal of Symbolic Logic, Vol. 37, No. 4 (Dec., 1972), pp. 721-743 Pincus introduces the notion of ...
David Roberts's user avatar
  • 35.4k
22 votes
3 answers
2k views

Nice algebraic statements independent from ZF + V=L (constructibility)

Background and motivation I've always been fascinated about algebraic statements independent from ZFC set theory. One such fascinating example comes from considering $\rm{Ext}^1_\mathbb{Z}(A,\mathbb{Z}...
user avatar
18 votes
3 answers
1k views

Spectra of elements of a Banach algebra and the role played by the Hahn-Banach Theorem.

This problem was posed on Math StackExchange some time ago, but it did not garner any solutions there. I think that it is interesting enough to be posed here on Math Overflow, so here it goes. Let $ \...
Leonard's user avatar
  • 816