It is consistent that there exists a non-principal ultrafilter over $\omega$ while $\mathbb{R}$ is not well-ordered. To see this, suppose that the partition relation $\omega \to (\omega)^{\omega}$ holds in $L(\mathbb{R})$. Then forcing with $\mathbb{P}= [\omega]^{\omega}$ adjoins a selective ultrafilter $\mathcal{U}$ over $\omega$ and $\mathcal{P}(\omega)$ cannot be well-ordered in $L(\mathbb{R})[\mathcal{U}]$. (See Eisworth's paper "Selective ultrafilters and $\omega \to (\omega)^{\omega}$.) Thus $L(\mathbb{R})[\mathcal{U}]$ is a model of $ZF$ which contains the nonprincipal ultrafilter $\mathcal{U}$ and yet $\mathbb{R}$ cannot be well-ordered in $L(\mathbb{R})[\mathcal{U}]$.
Simon Thomas
- 8.3k
- 4
- 42
- 57