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Proper Forcing, Countable-Support Iterations, and PFA
1 · Prerequisites
- Arithmetization, Incompleteness, and Relative Consistency
- Boolean Algebras, Stone Duality, and the Prime Ideal Theorem
- Cardinal Arithmetic, Cofinality and the Alephs
- Club, Stationary Sets, and Pressing Down
- Compactness
- Compactness in Metric Spaces
- Construction of the Natural Numbers
- Construction of the Real Numbers via Cauchy Sequences
- Construction of the Real Numbers via Dedekind Cuts
- Countability and Uncountability
- Countability Axioms and Cardinal Functions
- Deduction, Soundness, Completeness, and Compactness
- Filters and Ultrafilters
- Finite Counting, Factorials and Binomial Coefficients
- Finite-Support Iterations and Martin's Axiom
- Forcing Orders, Names, and Generic Extensions
- Formal Set-Theoretic Syntax, Structures, and Satisfaction
- Foundations of the Real Numbers for Analysis
- Large Cardinals, Measures, and Elementary Embeddings
- Metric Spaces
- Monotone Sequences, Bolzano-Weierstrass, and Cauchy Completeness
- Order, Zorn's Lemma, and the Axiom of Choice
- Ordinal Arithmetic and the First Uncountable Ordinal
- Ordinals, Cardinals, and Transfinite Recursion
- Preservation, Cohen Forcing, and the Continuum
- Reflection, Absoluteness, and Elementary Submodels
- Relations, Functions, and Quotients
- Roots, Rational Powers, and Classical Inequalities
- Separation Axioms: the Hierarchy
- Sequences and Limits
- Set-Theoretic Trees, Delta Systems, and Diamond
- Subspaces, Products, and Quotients
- Suprema and Infima
- Suslin Trees, Lines, Algebras, and Independence
- The Arithmetical Hierarchy and Post's Theorem
- The Forcing Theorem and Formal Consistency Transfer
- The ZFC Axioms and the Basic Set Constructions
- Topological Spaces and Continuity
- Weak Choice Principles and Sierpiński's Theorem
- Well-Founded Relations, Rank, and the Cumulative Hierarchy
2 · Summary
Properness is formulated through countable elementary submodels and master conditions: every dense set in the model is required to be predense below the master, not to contain the master itself. The equivalent forcing and ground-model-capture formulations make that definition usable in proofs. Both ccc and countably closed forcing are proper, while proper forcing preserves stationary subsets of and therefore preserves .
Countable-support iterations use two-step forcing at successors and inverse limits with countable nontrivial support at limits. The master-condition lemma handles a named tail condition while fixing an earlier master segment. At a countable-cofinality limit its construction unions coherent initial segments, not arbitrary descending coordinate values. Successor, countable-cofinality and bounded-model limit cases then yield the preservation theorem: a countable-support iteration whose iterands are forced proper is proper.
PFA is stated for a nonempty proper order and any family of at most dense sets. Restriction to ccc orders gives and hence the Suslin Hypothesis. Its combinatorial consequences are developed through the P-ideal dichotomy and the inequality . The topology argument uses both hypotheses: PID organizes the right-separated-neighborhood ideal, while the bound by rules out the remaining obstruction. Thus regular Hausdorff hereditarily separable spaces are Lindelöf under PFA, so PFA implies that there are no S-spaces.
The consistency construction separates two uses of Laver anticipation. Laver preparation makes supercompactness indestructible under a restricted class of later forcings; the PFA construction instead uses the Laver function as bookkeeping for arbitrary proper forcing names. The length- countable-support iteration is proper and -cc, collapses precisely the ground cardinals strictly between and , and forces . When an embedding anticipates a requested proper order, the image iteration factors through that order, and elementarity reflects the required dense-set filter back to the original extension.
Finally, the semantic forcing proof is compiled into fixed finite-fragment proof transformations. Primitive-recursive syntax operations translate each certified ZFC+PFA refutation into a certified ZFC+supercompact refutation, and PA verifies the resulting consistency implication. This is a formal relative consistency result; it neither extracts a countable transitive model from bare consistency nor asserts that an outer generic filter belongs to the ground extension. Choice is declared at every elementary-model, simultaneous-choice, cardinal-arithmetic and formalization step that uses it.
3 · Logical flowchart
4 · Definitions, theorems and proofs
Countable-support forcing iterations
Definition
Fix an ordinal and set-indexed data . As in Finite-support forcing iterations, is trivial, is identified with the two-step iteration , and is a supplied name forced to be the largest condition of the nonempty preorder . More precisely, for each let be the set-sized second-name carrier used for that two-step iteration and require . At a limit , a condition is a coherent function on with such that
for every , and its nontrivial support
is at most countable. Coordinates outside the support are filled by the specified top names. The order is stronger-is-smaller:
This recursive system is a countable-support iteration, and the limit order is its countable-support inverse limit. It differs from the direct finite-support limit precisely by allowing countably many nontrivial coordinates.
For , the restriction map is . In a -generic extension, the quotient is
with the inherited order; equivalently one may use the canonical -name for the tails . Thus a name for a quotient condition always comes with the requirement that its initial restriction belongs to the generic filter.
The definition itself makes no choice. Later limit arguments may take the union of a sequence of coherent initial segments, meaning for increasing ; this is not an assertion that arbitrary coordinatewise descending sequences in proper iterands have lower bounds. Showing that the resulting union has countable support uses the applicable countable-union principle and is kept as an explicit proof obligation there.
Master conditions and proper posets
Definition
Let be a nonempty preorder, let be a regular cardinal with , and let be a countable elementary submodel of a structure containing all displayed parameters, where is a fixed well-order of . A condition is -generic if, for every dense with , the set is predense below . Spelled out in the stronger-is-smaller convention, this means
For , an -master condition below is an -generic satisfying . Neither genericity nor mastery requires , and genericity does not require itself to belong to every dense set.
The preorder is proper in the master-condition formulation if, for every sufficiently large regular , every such countable elementary , and every , there is an -master condition below . Here “sufficiently large” means that some regular works for every regular . Adding the well-order makes the Skolem-closure convention explicit. The equivalent club-of-models and generic-extension formulations are assertions, not definitions, and are proved in the next item.
This item only fixes predicates and quantifiers, so it makes no selection and uses no instance of Choice. Existence of the countable elementary models and of master conditions is invoked only by later theorems under their declared axiom bases.
Master-condition characterizations
Statement
Let and be as in the master-condition definition. For the following are equivalent:
- (i) is -generic;
- (ii) for every dense , ;
- (iii) ;
- (iv) .
Here . Moreover, the club-of-countable-models formulation of properness is equivalent to the all-model formulation in sufficiently large structures .
Facts & Assumptions
Given: ZFC, the displayed , and the stronger-is-smaller forcing convention.
-genericity means that is predense below for every dense . Master conditions and proper posets
The forcing theorem supplies definability and the truth lemma for the formulas and names used below. Forcing theorem
Forcing is persistent, every formula is densely decided, and truth on a dense set below a condition is equivalent to being forced by that condition. Monotonicity, density, and decision for forcing
Downward Löwenheim--Skolem supplies elementary Skolem hulls containing specified parameters. Downward Löwenheim–Skolem with parameters
AC supplies maximal antichains, well-orders of them, and the ambient well-orders/Skolem closures. The Axiom of Choice
Proof
Fix dense. If is predense below , then conditions below that extend a condition of are dense below ; F2 gives . Conversely, if some were incompatible with every member of , then would force that intersection empty. This proves (1) if and only if (2).
Assume (1). The inclusion follows from check names. For the reverse inclusion, let force that a name equals a ground object . Define to contain (a) every for which some ground object satisfies , and (b) every below which no condition has property (a). This set is dense: from any condition, either an extension has property (a), or the original condition has property (b). By definability of forcing it belongs to . Since is predense below , some is compatible with . It cannot have property (b), because a common extension with would force while admitting no ground-value extension. Hence has property (a); by elementarity its witness may be taken as some . A common extension of and forces both and , so . Thus forces every ground member of to lie in , proving (3). Statement (3) immediately implies (4), since ordinals are ground objects and check names give the opposite inclusion.
Assume (4), and let be a maximal antichain. In , use A1 to fix a bijection from an ordinal , and form by mixing the name for the unique index of the member of . Then and by (4). Consequently forces , so is predense below . Every dense contains, by elementarity and A1, such a maximal antichain ; hence is predense below and (1) follows.
The all-model definition immediately gives the club formulation, since the countable elementary submodels of a fixed well-ordered structure form a club by F4 and A1. Conversely, suppose the good models contain a club in , where . Represent a subclub as the models closed under a function . Choose and a well-order so that may be taken as the -least such witness. Every countable is then closed under , so is a good club model. Every subset of , and hence every dense set or maximal antichain in , belongs to ; therefore . An -master below is thus also an -master. This proves the all-model formulation and completes both claimed equivalences. AC is used exactly for A1; no countable transitive model or generic filter is selected.
Ccc and countably closed forcings are proper
Statement
In ZFC, every ccc forcing preorder and every countably closed forcing preorder is proper. No converse is asserted.
Facts & Assumptions
Given: A nonempty forcing preorder and a sufficiently large well-ordered structure containing it.
Properness may be checked by producing an -master below each . Master-condition characterizations
Ccc means that every antichain is countable. Compatibility, ccc and Knaster for posets
Countable closure means that every countable descending chain has a common lower bound. Closure, distributivity, and chain conditions for forcing orders
AC supplies maximal antichains, enumerations of the countable family of dense sets in , and the recursive choices in the closed case. The Axiom of Choice
Proof
Suppose first that is ccc, let be a relevant countable elementary model, and fix . For each dense , elementarity and A1 give a maximal antichain with . By F2, is externally countable. Any externally countable set is a subset of : elementarity supplies in a surjection from onto , and every natural number belongs to . Hence is predense below every condition, so itself is -generic and is a master below . F1 proves that is proper.
Suppose instead that is countably closed. Enumerate all dense subsets of belonging to as , repeating one if the family is finite. Starting with , use elementarity and A1 to choose with ; every stays in . By F3 there is for all . For every , the condition lies above , so is predense below . Thus is an -master below , and F1 again makes proper.
The two arguments cover the ccc and countably closed hypotheses independently and use no converse. AC is spent exactly in the maximal-antichain and enumeration/recursive-choice operations identified in steps 1.1 and 1.2. Therefore every forcing in either class is proper.
Proper forcing preserves stationary subsets of omega-one
Statement
In ZFC, every proper forcing preserves every ground-model stationary subset of . In particular, proper forcing preserves .
Facts & Assumptions
Given: A proper forcing , a stationary in the ground model, a condition , and a name forced by to be club in .
Master genericity is equivalent to forcing every ordinal-valued name in to have value in . Master-condition characterizations
Clubs are closed and unbounded, and stationarity means meeting every club. The club filter and nonstationary ideal
The forcing theorem supplies names, decision, and truth in the generic extension. Forcing theorem
AC supplies ambient well-orders, Skolem functions, and the normal enumeration of a named club. The Axiom of Choice
Proof
Choose a sufficiently large well-ordered structure containing , and fix Skolem functions for it. We first derive the elementary-model trace fact needed here. For , let be the Skolem hull of and put The set of nonzero limit ordinals closed under is club. If , finite character of Skolem terms gives , so . By stationarity choose and set . Then is countable elementary, contains all the required parameters, and has trace . Properness supplies an -master .
In choose a name which forces to be the increasing continuous enumeration of . For every , one has and hence the ordinal name belongs to . By F1, forces its value into . Thus forces . Since an increasing enumeration satisfies , its first values are cofinal in ; closure of then gives . As is a ground ordinal, .
The choices of and the club name were arbitrary, so no condition can force a ground stationary to become nonstationary. To see preservation of without a hidden cofinality inference, let force that is any function, choose a relevant countable model containing , and use properness to choose an -master . F1 then forces each into the fixed countable ordinal , so the range is bounded and is not cofinal, hence not surjective. Therefore remains uncountable and equals the extension's . AC is used exactly in A1.
Proper iteration master-condition lemma
Statement
Let be a countable-support iteration such that every preceding stage forces proper. Let be countable and contain the iteration. Suppose , is -generic, and the -name satisfies
Then there is an -generic such that and .
Facts & Assumptions
Given: ZFC and all iteration, model, name, and genericity hypotheses in the statement.
Countable-support iterations use two-step successors, supplied top names, and inverse limits of countably supported coherent conditions. Countable-support forcing iterations
A condition is model-generic exactly when it forces ordinal-name values, or equivalently generic intersections with dense sets, to remain in the model. Master-condition characterizations
Two-step generics factor into a first-stage generic and a quotient generic, and conversely. Generic factorization and ccc preservation for two-step iterations
The forcing theorem supplies definability of forcing and the truth lemma for all formulas and names used in the recursion. Forcing theorem
Transfinite induction applies to the iteration length. Transfinite induction
A countable union of countable sets is countable under countable Choice. Countable unions of at most countable sets, assuming
AC supplies well-ordered elementary structures, enumerations of dense sets and model ordinals, and the recursive name/condition choices. The Axiom of Choice
Proof
We prove the displayed extension property by transfinite induction on . At take : the hypothesis already says forces . Assume as induction hypothesis that the property holds at every smaller iteration length.
We record the name-selection argument used below. Suppose forces that there is a set satisfying a fixed formula . By the existential forcing clause, the conditions below that force for some name are dense below . Use A1 to choose a maximal antichain of such conditions and, for each , one witness name . The usual mixed name agrees with below . Thus the conditions forcing are dense below , and the forcing definition gives . This derives the needed maximum principle from the forcing clauses and AC rather than attributing it to F4.
Let . Apply the induction hypothesis at to obtain an -generic extending and forcing . In a -extension containing , the last coordinate belongs to . Since is proper there, choose an -master below it, and apply step 1.2 to choose a name for this condition. By F3, forces into the two-step generic. It is -generic: for any ordinal-valued -name in , the quotient master forces its value into , and the first-stage master then forces that ground ordinal into ; F2 applies. This gives the successor case.
Now let be limit. The case was settled at step 1.1, so assume and put . Choose an increasing sequence from with and supremum , and enumerate the dense subsets of in as . Recursively construct -generic and -names , beginning with the given pair, so that and forces: ; and for ; and . For the recursive step, work in a -generic extension containing and resolve . In the ground model define The set belongs to and is dense: below a condition compatible with , first take a common extension, paste it to the tail of , and then strengthen the resulting -condition into . Since is an -master, the generic meets . Its member cannot take the incompatible alternative because is in the same generic. Elementarity therefore supplies below whose restriction lies in the generic. Apply step 1.2 to name that choice, then apply the induction hypothesis at to obtain .
Define on by and fill every coordinate in with its supplied top name. This is a condition: the equalities make the union a coherent function, and F6 makes its support, a subset of , countable. This is the only fusion operation; no coordinatewise lower bound in an arbitrary proper iterand is used. To check what forces, take any -generic containing it and resolve the names . For , the construction and truth lemma give . Also , so the countable set belongs to and is a subset of ; hence . The inverse-limit generic is determined on a condition by these cofinal projections, so . Thus forces for every , in particular .
Step 3.1 shows that forces for every , so every is predense below ; F2 makes -generic. Its restriction to is , and step 3.1 gives . The base, successor, and limit cases exhaust the induction, so the lemma holds for every . AC is used exactly in A1, including the countable-support union through F6.
Countable-support iterations preserve properness
Statement
In ZFC, if every iterand in a countable-support iteration is forced proper by its preceding stage, then the full iteration and every initial segment are proper.
Facts & Assumptions
Given: A countable-support iteration such that is proper for every .
The proper-iteration master lemma extends a master at an earlier stage to a master at any later stage while placing a named model condition into the generic. Proper iteration master-condition lemma
Properness means that below every there is an -master, for every relevant countable elementary model . Master conditions and proper posets
Properness on a club of relevant countable models is equivalent to the all-model formulation. Master-condition characterizations
AC supplies the well-ordered elementary structures and countable models quantified over by properness. The Axiom of Choice
Proof
Fix and a sufficiently large well-ordered containing the full iteration and . The countable elementary submodels containing these fixed parameters form a club. Fix one such and ; then and the restricted iteration belong to . At the trivial stage , its unique condition is -generic, and the canonical -name is forced to belong to with trivial restriction in . Apply F1 with to obtain an -generic such that . Hence and are compatible: otherwise directedness of a generic filter would make force . Choose a common extension . Predensity below persists below the stronger condition , so is still -generic and is now literally below .
Step 1.1 proves the master condition on the club of models containing the full iteration and ; F3 converts this to the all-model formulation in F2. Thus is proper. Since was arbitrary and the hypotheses restrict to every initial segment, every , including , is proper. Successor lengths, limits of countable cofinality, and limits where is bounded are already the exhaustive cases in F1; no closure of the individual iterands is assumed. AC is used only as recorded in A1 and in the supplier F1.
The Proper Forcing Axiom
Definition
The Proper Forcing Axiom (PFA) is the assertion that whenever is a nonempty proper forcing partial order and is a family of dense subsets of with , there is a filter such that for every .
The forcing order is stronger-is-smaller, so a filter is upward closed toward weaker conditions and downward directed: if , some satisfies . Replacing each dense set by its downward closure gives the equivalent dense-open formulation. Empty and finite families are included; for the empty family any singleton generated filter suffices because is nonempty.
PFA has the fixed bound . It is not being defined here as , and no value of the continuum is presupposed. The definition itself makes no selection; later uses work in ZFC plus PFA and declare their uses of Choice.
PFA implies MA(aleph-one) and the Suslin Hypothesis
Statement
In ZFC plus PFA, holds and the Suslin Hypothesis holds.
Facts & Assumptions
Given: PFA.
PFA supplies a filter meeting any family of at most dense sets in a proper forcing. The Proper Forcing Axiom
Every ccc forcing is proper. Ccc and countably closed forcings are proper
rules out Suslin trees. MA(aleph-one) eliminates Suslin trees
A Suslin line exists exactly when a Suslin tree exists; consequently SH is equivalent to nonexistence of a Suslin tree. Kurepa equivalence
The supplier theorems work in ZFC and propagate their stated uses of AC. The Axiom of Choice
Proof
Let be ccc and let be a family of at most dense subsets of . By F2, is proper, so F1 gives a filter meeting all members of . This is precisely .
Applying F3 to step 1.1 shows that no Suslin tree exists.
By F4, nonexistence of Suslin trees is equivalent to nonexistence of Suslin lines, which is the Suslin Hypothesis. Thus PFA implies both asserted conclusions. No value of the continuum was used.
P-ideals, PID, the pseudointersection number, and S-spaces
Definition
For subsets of a set , write when is finite, and write when is finite. If , then
An ideal of countable subsets of is a family that contains every finite subset of , is downward closed, and is closed under finite unions. It is a P-ideal if for every sequence in there is such that for every . A set is orthogonal to when , that is, is finite for every .
The P-ideal dichotomy (PID) says that for every such P-ideal on every set , at least one of the following holds:
- there is an uncountable such that ;
- there are sets for with and each .
A family has the strong finite intersection property if is infinite for every finite (including , whose intersection is ). An infinite is a pseudointersection of when for every . The pseudointersection number is the least cardinality of a strong-finite-intersection family in with no infinite pseudointersection. This cardinal-invariant clause is read in ZFC: AC well-orders the possible witness sizes and supplies the standard existence argument for a witnessing centered family.
A topological space is hereditarily separable (respectively, hereditarily Lindelöf) if every one of its subspaces is separable (respectively, Lindelöf). An S-space is a regular Hausdorff, hereditarily separable, non-Lindelöf space. Here regularity and Hausdorffness are both stated because this library's word “regular” does not by itself carry a separation axiom. The empty and singleton spaces are Lindelöf, so neither is an S-space. These are predicates and cardinal definitions only; no individual witness is selected in this item, but the existence and well-defined cardinal value of use ambient AC as just stated.
PFA implies the P-ideal dichotomy
Statement
In ZFC, PFA implies PID: every P-ideal of countable subsets of an arbitrary set satisfies one of the two alternatives in the P-ideal dichotomy.
Facts & Assumptions
Given: PFA and a P-ideal .
PFA supplies a filter meeting at most dense sets in every proper forcing. The Proper Forcing Axiom
The P-ideal property supplies modulo-finite pseudounions, and PID's two conclusions are an uncountable with all countable subsets in or a countable cover by sets orthogonal to . P-ideals, PID, the pseudointersection number, and S-spaces
A model-generic condition forces the model-generic intersection and the ground/ordinal trace properties used below. Master-condition characterizations
AC supplies simultaneous P-ideal bounds, well-ordered elementary models, finite-chain choices, names, and the omega-one recursions. The Axiom of Choice
Proof
Fix a large regular . For every countable , use F2 and A1 to fix with for all , and put for a countable . Define as follows. A condition has finite and a finite membership-chain of countable elementary submodels containing ; distinct points of are separated by some ; and if and , then . Put when , , and for every . These clauses are preserved by extension and make the empty pair a greatest condition.
We verify properness, including the combinatorial compatibility step. Let be suitable, , and add to its side chain; the result is a condition below . Fix once and for all the well-order of carried by the elementary structure. For a condition and a model , define the condition trace and enumerate the finite set in the fixed well-order, writing for the resulting tuple. It suffices by F3 to take and dense , first strengthen into , and then find a member of compatible with this strengthening; rename the strengthened condition . Put and . By elementarity, restrict to the conditions carrying a distinguished such that and ; the witnesses for are and . Let and let be the sigma-ideal generated by . For , let retain the tuples for which, at every coordinate , the fibre of possible th entries above is -positive. The derivative claim in Moore's cited tutorial says that is a nonempty -splitting member of and contains the external tuple . Its finite induction uses the membership chain and clause 4 of the forcing: if first disappeared, the least bad fibre's countable decomposition, coded in the relevant side model, would put one of the corresponding outside points of in a member of from that model, contrary to clause 4. In particular, this claim does not assume that itself belongs to . Starting with the empty tuple, choose successively in an initial segment extendible in . Its next-coordinate set is not in , hence is not orthogonal to ; elementarity gives an infinite with . For every one of the finitely many outer models , membership-chain coherence gives , so . Choose the next coordinate in . After choices, elementarity supplies whose tuple is the chosen one, and hence is contained in every . Then is a common extension. Thus is an -master and is proper.
If is a countable union of members of , PID's second alternative holds. Otherwise choose a suitable countable and . Then is a condition and, by step 2.1, an -master. For a -generic containing , set and . The master condition forces uncountable: if an -name enumerated it countably, F3 would put all of its ground points in , contrary to . Properness gives the ground-model countable-covering property by the same master-name argument, so every countable subset of is contained in some side model . The order clause gives , and therefore . Hence forces every countable subset of to lie in .
Work in the proper cone . Choose names and such that forces injective and for every ; step 3.1 supplies them. For each , the set of conditions deciding both values is dense. By F1 there is a filter meeting all . Compatibility within the filter makes the decided values coherent, producing in the ground universe an injection and with . Put . If is countable, the set of its -indices is bounded by some , so and downward closure gives . Thus witnesses PID's first alternative. Together with the first sentence of step 3.1, this proves PID. AC is used exactly through A1 and the stated ZFC suppliers.
PFA implies the pseudointersection number exceeds omega-one
Statement
In ZFC plus PFA, : every family of at most infinite subsets of with the strong finite intersection property has an infinite pseudointersection.
Facts & Assumptions
Given: PFA and a family of cardinality at most with the strong finite intersection property.
The definitions of strong finite intersection, pseudointersection, and use modulo-finite containment and require the witness to be infinite. P-ideals, PID, the pseudointersection number, and S-spaces
PFA implies . PFA implies MA(aleph-one) and the Suslin Hypothesis
applies to ccc partial orders and at most dense sets with the stronger-is-smaller filter convention. Martin's Axiom at a cardinal and Martin's Axiom
AC supplies an omega-one indexing when needed and is the ambient choice principle in the stated ZFC result. The Axiom of Choice
Proof
Let consist of pairs with and . Put exactly when , , and , taking . For a fixed finite stem , every finite collection of conditions with that stem has the common extension whose side set is the union of their side sets. Since there are countably many finite subsets of , is sigma-centered and therefore ccc.
For each , the set is dense, because adding to changes no stem. For each , let . Given outside , the strong finite intersection property makes infinite, so choose with and extend the stem by ; hence is dense. The family of all and has cardinality at most .
By F2 and F3, choose a filter meeting every set from step 2.1, and put . Meeting all makes unbounded in , hence infinite. Fix and choose . For any , directedness gives below both; the order relative to gives , and . Thus , and after taking the union, is finite. Therefore for every , so is an infinite pseudointersection.
Since every at-most- strong-finite-intersection family has such a pseudointersection, no family witnessing the definition of has cardinality at most . By F1, . Empty and finite are included: the same forcing works, and for the constructed is simply infinite.
PID plus p greater than omega-one eliminates S-spaces
Statement
In ZFC plus PID and , every regular Hausdorff hereditarily separable space is hereditarily Lindelöf. Consequently no S-space exists.
Facts & Assumptions
Given: PID, , and a regular Hausdorff hereditarily separable space .
A P-ideal uses modulo-finite pseudounions; PID has the uncountable internally-small and countable orthogonal-cover alternatives; controls pseudointersections; and S-spaces use the stated hereditary topological conventions. P-ideals, PID, the pseudointersection number, and S-spaces
AC supplies the omega-one recursion, countable enumerations, and all simultaneous finite-modulo and topological witness choices. The Axiom of Choice
Proof
Assume for contradiction that some subspace is not Lindelöf. Regularity, Hausdorffness, and hereditary separability pass to subspaces, so replace by . Choose an open cover with no countable subcover. Recursively for , select a cover member and outside . Let and relabel ; then is countable for every . By regularity choose open with . Define . It is an ideal containing all finite sets.
We first derive the needed domination fact from . If has size less than , consider, on the countable set , the sets for and . Every finite intersection is infinite. A pseudointersection exists by the definition of ; thin it to distinct with , and put . Since , eventually dominates every . Now take , replace them by their increasing finite unions, and enumerate each infinite as . For each , choose past the finite set . As , choose one eventual dominator for all , and set , ignoring finite . Each , while for fixed all sufficiently large rows avoid and the finitely many remaining rows meet it finitely. Thus , proving that is a P-ideal.
Apply PID to . In the first alternative take uncountable with . For , the set must be finite; otherwise a countably infinite subset of it would belong to yet meet infinitely. Since the space is Hausdorff and hence , delete the finitely many other points of to obtain a relative open neighborhood isolating . Thus is an uncountable discrete subspace, which is not separable, contradicting hereditary separability.
In PID's second alternative write with every . Some is uncountable, and hereditary separability gives a countable dense . The family has the strong finite intersection property. Indeed, if were finite for some finite , then together with finitely many points. But every and each is countable, forcing countable, a contradiction. Since , F1 gives an infinite pseudointersection . Then is finite for every , so ; but contradicts . Thus the second alternative is impossible as well.
Both PID alternatives contradict hereditary separability, so the assumed non-Lindelöf subspace cannot exist. Hence every subspace of the original is Lindelöf: is hereditarily Lindelöf. By the S-space definition in F1, no regular Hausdorff hereditarily separable non-Lindelöf space exists. AC is used exactly as recorded in A1.
PFA implies that there are no S-spaces
Statement
In ZFC plus PFA, no regular Hausdorff hereditarily separable non-Lindelöf space exists; equivalently, there are no S-spaces.
Facts & Assumptions
Given: PFA.
PFA implies PID. PFA implies the P-ideal dichotomy
PID together with makes every regular Hausdorff hereditarily separable space hereditarily Lindelöf, excluding S-spaces. PID plus p greater than omega-one eliminates S-spaces
Proof
By F1 and F2, the PFA universe satisfies both PID and .
Apply F3. Every regular Hausdorff hereditarily separable space is hereditarily Lindelöf and therefore Lindelöf itself, so none meets the non-Lindelöf clause in the definition of an S-space.
Laver preparation versus PFA bookkeeping
Laver preparation and the standard forcing of PFA share one input but have different jobs. A Laver anticipation function can make a chosen set appear as for a suitable supercompactness embedding. Its existence from a supercompact cardinal is the content of Existence of a Laver function at a supercompact, with the exact anticipation convention in Laver anticipation functions.
The Laver preparation uses that function in an iteration designed to make indestructibly supercompact under subsequent -directed-closed set forcing, exactly within the class stated by Supercompact preparation interface. Its conclusion does not cover arbitrary proper forcing.
The PFA bookkeeping iteration instead uses to anticipate names for proper partial orders and places each valid guess into a countable-support iteration. The anticipated posets need not be directed closed. The final embedding argument uses to expose the requested proper forcing as the next factor of ; it does not appeal to prior indestructibility. Indeed, the PFA iteration deliberately collapses cardinals so that the former supercompact becomes , and therefore does not preserve its supercompactness.
Thus the preparation theorem is comparison material, not a load-bearing premise of the PFA proof. No implication saying that proper forcing preserves a supercompact cardinal is asserted. All existence statements above retain their ZFC and supercompact hypotheses; ambient AC is supplied by The Axiom of Choice, and this comparison makes no fresh selection.
Laver-guided proper bookkeeping iteration
Definition
Let be supercompact and let be a Laver anticipation function. The Laver-guided proper bookkeeping iteration is the countable-support iteration
defined recursively as follows. Start with the trivial . Once has been defined, inspect . If it is a -name and
put , where is the canonical name normalization that leaves a partial order with a greatest condition unchanged and otherwise adjoins one new greatest condition. Otherwise put , the canonical name for the one-condition forcing. Successors use the usual two-step iteration and limits use the countable-support inverse limit. Thus every iterand is forced proper, including every fallback, and all coordinate top names required by the iteration interface are supplied. Adjoining a greatest condition preserves properness and gives a dense copy of the original order below the new top, so this normalization changes no generic extension.
The test is internal to the preceding forcing extension: “is a name” is a syntactic property and the assertion of properness is evaluated by the forcing relation for . No guess that fails either test is used. The construction therefore never assumes that an arbitrary element of denotes a forcing.
For each , the collapse as computed after stage is countably closed and hence proper. The Laver reflection argument in the next lemma shows that names for these collapses occur at unboundedly many valid guessing stages; this is a theorem about the defined iteration, not an extra clause silently built into a malformed guess. The same factor mechanism says that whenever an embedding is chosen with and forces nonempty and proper, stage of is . Hence the image iteration factors, up to the canonical forcing equivalence, through itself; if already has a greatest condition, the stage is literally .
The recursive construction from the supplied and is definition-level data and makes no fresh choice. Existence of retains the ZFC plus supercompact hypothesis of Existence of a Laver function at a supercompact; no Laver preparation or indestructibility assumption is part of this definition.
Size, collapse, and factorization for the PFA iteration
Statement
Let be supercompact and let be the Laver-guided countable-support iteration. Then is proper, has cardinality , is -cc, preserves , collapses every ground cardinal strictly between and , and forces . If a sufficiently closed supercompactness embedding anticipates a -name for a proper forcing, then
for the tail iteration in .
Facts & Assumptions
Given: ZFC, a supercompact , a Laver function , and the iteration from the statement.
The bookkeeping construction uses countable support, only forced-proper iterands, a trivial fallback, and identifies an anticipated proper name as stage of the image iteration. Laver-guided proper bookkeeping iteration
Countable-support iterations of forced-proper iterands are proper. Countable-support iterations preserve properness
Proper forcing preserves . Proper forcing preserves stationary subsets of omega-one
Supercompactness supplies sufficiently closed embeddings with critical point . Supercompactness and closed elementary embeddings
Below an inaccessible cardinal all required rank and exponentiation bounds are below . Size and rank bounds below an inaccessible
Families of small supports admit large delta subsystems under the stated inaccessible arithmetic. Generalized delta systems for small supports
A -cc forcing preserves the regular cardinal and all larger cardinals and cofinalities. Chain conditions preserve high cofinalities and ccc preserves cardinals
Every supercompact cardinal is inaccessible. Large-cardinal implication and consistency ledger
AC supplies thinning, well-orders, simultaneous names, and the selected supercompactness embeddings. The Axiom of Choice
Proof
By F1 every stage forces its iterand proper, so F2 makes every , including , proper. F3 therefore preserves .
Let be the set of for which is a valid -name for . We verify the required reflection instead of assuming it. Let be the canonical -name for . The Laver anticipation property gives a sufficiently closed supercompactness embedding with . By elementarity and the recursive definition in F1, the first stages of are exactly , so recognizes as the required proper collapse name at stage . Hence . If were bounded below some , then , contradicting . Thus is unbounded.
By F8, is inaccessible. Inductively, and every iterand name for have hereditary size below : F1 places the guesses in , while F5 bounds the number of countable supports and the countable products of earlier hereditary presentations. At every limit of uncountable cofinality, countable support is bounded, so the inverse-limit carrier equals the direct limit; such limits form a stationary subset of inaccessible . For a -sized family of conditions, F6 thins their countable supports to a delta system. The root is bounded below some ; since , regularity thins again so all root restrictions agree. The union of any two remaining conditions is a condition: below they agree, and beyond the root their supports are disjoint, so at each coordinate monotonicity of the earlier forcing relation preserves the unique tail requirement. Hence the family has two compatible members and is -Knaster, in particular -cc. Every countable support is bounded in , so and .
For the collapse is countably closed and hence proper, so F1 uses it rather than the fallback. Consequently, for every ground cardinal with , a stage above makes . Moreover has at least conditions: the one-point functions in give that many distinct last-coordinate conditions. Since is unbounded, , so equality holds in step 2.1. By F7, itself remains a cardinal, while step 1.1 preserves ; therefore the final model has no cardinal strictly between them and forces .
Let be supplied by F4 with enough closure to contain the relevant -name , and suppose and forces proper. Since , elementarity applied to the recursive definition in F1 makes the first stages of exactly . The closure agreement makes recognize the same forced-properness assertion, so stage is , not the fallback. Splitting the remaining image iteration after that coordinate gives a tail name and the canonical dense isomorphism . This proves every clause, with Choice used exactly through A1 and the declared suppliers.
A supercompact cardinal can be forced to give PFA
Statement
If is supercompact, the Laver-guided countable-support iteration forces PFA and , while preserving and ZFC.
Facts & Assumptions
Given: A ZFC ground universe with a supercompact cardinal . Generic filters used in the semantic proof are supplied in common outer universes; none is asserted to exist inside its ground model.
PFA asks for a filter meeting every family of at most dense subsets of each nonempty proper partial order. The Proper Forcing Axiom
A supercompact cardinal has a Laver anticipation function. Existence of a Laver function at a supercompact
The Laver-guided iteration is proper, preserves , forces , and an embedding anticipating a forced-proper name factors its image as . Size, collapse, and factorization for the PFA iteration
Set-forcing extensions of ZFC models satisfy ZFC. Generic extensions satisfy ZF and preserve ground-model Choice
Forcing is definable formula by formula and satisfies the truth lemma and, when the stated outer generics are available, its semantic characterization. Forcing theorem
The bookkeeping iteration uses the anticipated name exactly when the preceding stage forces that it is a nonempty proper order with a greatest condition. Laver-guided proper bookkeeping iteration
AC supplies the ground well-orders and the set-sized selections of names, bounds, and embeddings used below. The Axiom of Choice
Proof
By F2 fix a Laver function and form as in F6. By F3 this forcing is proper, preserves , and forces . Let be arbitrary -generic. F4 gives . It remains to prove PFA in this arbitrary extension.
Work in . Fix a nonempty proper partial order and a family of dense subsets, where . If , any generates a filter and there is nothing to meet. Suppose and repeat to regard the family as an -sequence. Choose ground names for these objects. By F5 there is forcing that is proper and that is an -sequence of dense subsets of it. Restrict every coefficient of below and adjoin a new greatest condition, obtaining a name . In a generic containing its value is with that new top; in a generic on the incompatible side its value is the one-condition order. Adding a top preserves properness: an old condition uses a -master, while below the new top a countable model containing the nonempty contains an old condition and a -master below it. The set of conditions below or incompatible with is dense, so F5 shows that forces to be nonempty, proper, and to have a greatest condition. In the actual extension every remains dense in .
Choose a cardinal large enough for the names in step 2.1 and all restrictions of the desired embedding to them. Laver anticipation and supercompactness give a correspondingly closed with critical point and . By step 2.1 and F6 the image iteration uses at stage , and F3 gives in a tail name and a canonical dense factorization
By the outer-universe convention in Given, take generic over , followed by an -generic , all in a common outer universe. Under the factorization let . Every condition of has countable, hence bounded, support in ; the canonical first factor therefore sends it into , so . Define If two -names have the same -value, F5 gives a condition of forcing their equality; its image belongs to , so F5 in makes the displayed definition independent of the name. The same argument, applied to a formula or its negation, proves formula-by-formula that is elementary and extends .
Enumerate in the transitive closure of the name below the closure bound chosen in step 3.1. Closure puts the pointwise image of that enumeration in , and evaluating it with and constructs the set restriction in . There form the upward-closed filter generated by . It is directed because is directed and preserves the order. Since , For every , genericity gives , and . Thus satisfies that a filter on meets every member of the image sequence. Elementarity of reflects the existential assertion to a filter on in meeting every . Because the sequence is nonempty and every lies in , is nonempty; it is upward closed in , and any common extension in of two of its members lies in , not at the newly adjoined greatest condition. Hence is the required filter on .
The choice of and its dense family in was arbitrary, including the empty-family case, so F1 and step 5.1 give . Since was an arbitrary generic, F5 yields . Step 1.1 and F3 give preservation of and , while F4 gives preservation of ZFC. All uses of Choice are those declared in A1; the outer generics facilitate the semantic argument and are not claimed to be elements of .
Finite-fragment compiler for the PFA iteration
Statement
Fix certified presentations of the source theory and the target , together with certified formal versions of the preceding Laver-guided forcing proof. Require these fixed data to include checker-certified, formula-parametric proof templates for the forcing translations of Separation and Replacement, the nonschematic ZFC axioms and logical rules, together with their PA correctness derivations, as well as the one fixed PFA forcing block. PA then verifies total primitive-recursive constructors which take every certified finite target fragment to source proofs of the finite ground and forcing facts needed for that fragment, and which take every certified -refutation to a certified -refutation. No countable transitive model of either full theory is inferred from consistency.
Facts & Assumptions
Given: The fixed certified calculi, code-parametric templates, PA correctness derivations, and formal proof blocks in the statement. A certificate for a Separation or Replacement axiom includes its defining formula, and the PFA axiom has one fixed tag. All malformed codes use the stipulated zero or empty-list defaults. The uniform templates are explicit input data here; they are not inferred from F2's externally indexed assertion.
The semantic Laver-guided construction proves in ZFC plus a supercompact that its nonempty iteration forces PFA and preserves ZFC. A supercompact cardinal can be forced to give PFA
For each externally fixed finite target fragment whose formal forcing verification is supplied, the verification expands to finitely many formula-specific truth, valuation, Separation, Replacement, parameter, and preorder proofs; this interface asserts no uniform arithmetic constructor. Forcing transfer for finite ZFC fragments
A formal forcing transfer requires verified total support extraction, proof construction, composition, and soundness operations; semantic correctness alone is insufficient. Formal consistency transfer by forcing
Formula recognition, free-variable and free-for tests, capture-free substitution, numeral formation, negation, and certified derivation checking are primitive recursive, with defaults on malformed inputs. Primitive-recursive syntax and certified proof checking
Validity, length, coordinates, append, concatenation, fixed-register iteration, and finite-history recursion for the certified sentinel list coding are primitive recursive. Primitive-recursive sentinel coding for certified syntax
Primitive-recursive functions have representations whose totality and uniqueness PA proves. Primitive-recursive functions are representable in Q
Proof
Fix the source and target proof predicates. Let be the fixed source formula saying that some supercompact and Laver function witness that is the recursively defined Laver-guided iteration. The stored formalization of F1 proves and proves from the nonemptiness and forcing conclusions of F1. Define by recursion on a parsed membership formula the code of “ forces ,” leaving as the one displayed free parameter. Atomic clauses insert the two fixed forcing-relation formulas; Boolean connectives and quantifiers insert the corresponding fixed clauses with fresh variables. F4 supplies parsing and capture-free substitution; fresh indices are obtained by a bounded scan above the largest parsed index, and F5 supplies the bounded syntax-tree traversal and output-list recursion. Alongside the formula code, the recursion emits the fixed logical derivations showing that forcing respects each logical axiom and inference rule. Invalid formula codes return the fixed tautology proof.
Define the target-axiom constructor from the certified templates in Given. For each of the finitely many nonschematic ZFC axioms it returns the corresponding stored forcing proof. On a certified Separation instance for , it substitutes into the supplied name-and-Separation template; on a Replacement instance it substitutes into the supplied least-witness-rank template and its bounding name. The Power Set branch inserts the stored subname construction, and the Choice branch inserts the stored ground-well-order and least-fibre construction. The PFA tag returns the one stored formalization of F1, including the forced-proper name normalization, image factor, lifted-embedding formula, image-generated filter, and elementarity reflection. Each branch is weakened by the antecedent and finishes with the supplied checker-certified derivation of for its input axiom . F4 verifies the displayed substitutions and certificate tags, while F5 supplies the finite template and list assembly. No truth evaluator, proof search, or uniformity inference from F2 occurs.
Traverse a certified finite fragment , apply to each entry, rename bound and proof-line variables above the current maxima, concatenate the blocks, and collect the nonlogical source-axiom certificates actually appearing. The resulting finite list contains the supercompact axiom because this compiler uniformly uses the PFA iteration, and it contains exactly the finitely many ZFC schema instances used by the emitted derivations. It also contains the parameter, preorder, forcing-recursion, proper-iteration, factorization, master-condition, and forcing-truth instances occurring in that fixed block, together with the fixed proof of . Thus the output proves every finite ground fact and every conditional for , not merely a citation to the semantic theorem. For each particular output fragment, F2 identifies these finite proof roles; it does not construct the traversal.
Every loop in steps 1.1–3.1 is bounded by a decoded formula, proof, or fragment length; every update is one of F4's primitive-recursive syntax operations or F5's primitive-recursive list recursions. Hence their composition is primitive recursive. PA proves the following simultaneous invariant by induction first on formula-tree size and then on the fragment position: every returned line reference is earlier than its use, every substitution passes the free-for test, each source axiom line carries its supplied certificate, and the last line of the block is the advertised forcing formula. Constant branches reduce to checking fixed finite numerals; the two schematic branches use the constructor tags and annotations that F4's checker recomputes. F6 supplies PA-provably total single-valued graphs for the composite functions. This verifies totality and checker acceptance rather than inferring either from F1 or F2.
Now define on a proposed target proof . If F4 rejects or its conclusion is not the fixed contradiction, put . Otherwise scan its lines. For a target-axiom line append the block supplied by . For a logical-axiom line append the corresponding forcing-logic block from step 1.1, weakened by . For modus ponens, generalization, or existential elimination, append the fixed block deriving for the conclusion from the already emitted conditional translations of the cited earlier lines, after renumbering its references. Maintain the table sending each input line to its output concluding line. The final target contradiction therefore yields . Append the fixed derivation that nonemptiness of implies ; since includes nonemptiness, obtain . Combining this with F1's stored source proof of gives an -refutation without adding a witness constant to the source language.
PA induction on the decoded line number proves the precise loop invariant The axiom, logical, and inference cases are exactly the branches in step 5.1, and malformed references take only the rejected-input branch. F4 checks the input and every emitted annotation; F5 supplies the bounded output-list and table recursions, and F6 proves the composite functions total. PA therefore verifies This supplies all constructor verifications demanded by F3, including the zero-occurrence case in which no PFA block is emitted.
Steps 1.1–4.1 give the promised compiler on every finite target fragment, and steps 5.1–6.1 give its verified refutation-reduction form. The construction manipulates finite codes only. F2 is used only after an output is fixed, to identify the finite semantic proof roles that output must realize; the uniform templates and their PA correctness derivations are the explicit certified data in Given. F1 supplies the one fixed object-theoretic PFA block. No step asserts that consistency creates a generic extension or a countable transitive model of full or full .
Formal consistency of PFA from a supercompact
Statement
For the fixed certified arithmetizations of and ,
This is a formal proof-code reduction. It does not extract a transitive model of either full theory from consistency.
Facts & Assumptions
Given: The proof predicates, contradiction sentence, and PA representations fixed by the two suppliers.
PA verifies a total map taking every certified -refutation to a certified -refutation. Finite-fragment compiler for the PFA iteration
A base-verified total refutation reduction from to yields in that base . Formal consistency transfer from a verified reduction
Proof
Apply F2 with arithmetic base PA, source theory , target theory , and reduction from F1. Its verified premise has the required orientation: a proof of contradiction in ZFC+PFA is sent to a proof of contradiction in ZFC plus a supercompact. Therefore PA proves
Equivalently, inside PA assume and let be arbitrary. If were a certified -refutation, F1 would make a certified -refutation, contradicting the assumption. Universal generalization over gives . This spells out both quantifiers and confirms that no converse implication is being used.
On standard natural numbers the formal implication gives the corresponding external relative-consistency consequence. F1 constructs only finite proof codes, and F2 explicitly requires no model extraction. Hence neither step produces a generic extension or a countable transitive model from the bare consistency hypothesis.
5 · Examples, counterexamples and false statements
None yet.
Sources
- Cummings, Iterated Forcing and Elementary Embeddings, Chapters 5 and 24
- Karagila, Forcing & Symmetric Extensions, Definition 8.1
- Cummings, Iterated Forcing and Elementary Embeddings, Definition 24.1
- Karagila, Forcing & Symmetric Extensions, Proposition 8.4 and complete proof, printed pp. 38-39
- Cummings, Iterated Forcing and Elementary Embeddings, Lemma 24.2, printed pp. 97-98
- Jech, Set Theory, Theorem 31.7 and Lemma 31.16, printed pp. 603-605
- Karagila, Forcing & Symmetric Extensions, Propositions 8.5 and 8.7 with complete proofs, printed p. 39
- Karagila, Forcing & Symmetric Extensions, Theorems 8.8-8.9 and complete proofs, printed pp. 39-40
- Jech, Set Theory, Lemmas 31.16-31.18 and complete Proper Iteration Lemma proof, printed pp. 605-606
- Jech, Set Theory, Proper Iteration Lemma 31.17 and Theorem 31.15, printed pp. 604-606
- Karagila, Forcing & Symmetric Extensions, Fact 8.15
- Cummings, Iterated Forcing and Elementary Embeddings, Definition 24.10, printed p.99
- Karagila, Forcing & Symmetric Extensions, Sections 7-8
- Todorcevic, Forcing with a coherent Souslin tree, Section 2 pp.2-3 and Section 7 pp.20-22
- Moore, The Proper Forcing Axiom: a tutorial, notes by Venturi, Sections 3.2, 4, and 5, pp.5-9
- Todorcevic, Forcing with a coherent Souslin tree, Sections 2 and 6-7
- Todorcevic, Forcing with a coherent Souslin tree, Section 2 and discussion preceding Section 7
- Todorcevic, Combinatorial Dichotomies in Set Theory, Theorem 23.2 and preceding argument, pp.45-46
- Todorcevic, Forcing with a coherent Souslin tree, Section 7, pp.20-22
- Todorcevic, Forcing with a coherent Souslin tree, Section 7
- Todorcevic, Combinatorial Dichotomies in Set Theory, Theorem 23.2
- Cummings, Iterated Forcing and Elementary Embeddings, Chapter 24
- Cummings, Iterated Forcing and Elementary Embeddings, proof of Theorem 24.11, pp.99-101
- Cummings, Iterated Forcing and Elementary Embeddings, Proposition 7.13 and Theorem 24.11, pp.28 and 99-101
- Cummings, Iterated Forcing and Elementary Embeddings, Theorem 24.11, pp.99-101
- Cummings, Iterated Forcing and Elementary Embeddings, Theorem 24.11