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TheoremStatement: AI-adaptedProof: AI-generatedSession-authored (Fable 5 assisted)precheck passjudge pass (z-ai/glm-5.2)verified 2026-07-29 (claude-fable-5)
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The long ray is a linear continuum, hence connected; every one of its at most countable subsets is bounded above, assuming countable choice

Statement

Let R=ω1×[0,1)R = \omega_1 \times [0,1) be the closed long ray with its lexicographic order and its order topology (The closed long ray ω1×[0,1)\omega_1 \times [0,1) under the lexicographic order, and the long line, with the order topology). Then:

  1. RR is a linear continuum (The order topology of a linearly ordered set, with the open rays as a subbasis; order-convex sets, order-density, the least upper bound property, and linear continua): it has at least two elements, it is order-dense, and it has the least upper bound property.
  2. RR is connected, and so is every order-convex subset of RR; in particular every initial segment [0R,x]={yR:yx}[0_R, x] = \{\, y \in R : y \le x \,\} is connected.
  3. Assuming the Axiom of Countable Choice ACω\mathrm{AC}_\omega (The Axiom of Countable Choice (ACω\mathrm{AC}_\omega)): every at most countable subset of RR (Finite, countably infinite, countable, uncountable) has an upper bound in RR; so no at most countable subset of RR is unbounded above.

Claims 1 and 2 are theorems of ZF. Claim 3 carries the hypothesis because it is inherited whole from Assuming countable choice: every at most countable subset of ω1\omega_1 is bounded below ω1\omega_1, so no at most countable subset of ω1\omega_1 is cofinal in it, and a supremum of at most countably many at most countable ordinals is at most countable, whose own statement carries it, and it is spent at exactly one step below.

Nothing here says RR is path-connected, and this proof gives no path between two of its points; that question needs an order isomorphism of each initial segment with [0,1][0,1], which is not constructed on this page.

Facts & Assumptions

Given: The closed long ray R=ω1×[0,1)R = \omega_1 \times [0,1) with the lexicographic order and its order topology.

[A1]

The lexicographic order on RR is a total order with least element 0R=(0,0)0_R = (0,0); (α,s)<(β,t)(\alpha,s) < (\beta,t) means α<β\alpha < \beta, or α=β\alpha = \beta and s<ts < t; every ss occurring satisfies 0s<10 \le s < 1 (The closed long ray ω1×[0,1)\omega_1 \times [0,1) under the lexicographic order, and the long line, with the order topology, Partial order and partially ordered set, Intervals of R\mathbb{R}: the nine order-convex forms, nondegeneracy, and length).

[A2]

For a set AA of ordinals, A\bigcup A is an ordinal, it is an upper bound of AA under \le, and it is \le every upper bound of AA; αβ\alpha \subseteq \beta holds exactly when αβ\alpha \le \beta; α+\alpha^{+} is an ordinal with α<α+\alpha < \alpha^{+}, and any two ordinals are comparable (Basic closure properties of ordinals, Trichotomy and well-ordering of the ordinals, Ordinal (von Neumann), Upper bound, least upper bound, and strict upper bound).

[A3]

The elements of ω1\omega_1 are exactly the at most countable ordinals, and ω1\omega_1 is a limit ordinal, so αω1\alpha \in \omega_1 implies α+ω1\alpha^{+} \in \omega_1 (The first uncountable ordinal ω1:=(ω)\omega_1 := \aleph(\omega), ω1\omega_1 is uncountable, every ordinal below it is at most countable, it is a cardinal and a limit ordinal, and its existence is a theorem of ZF, Successor and limit ordinals).

[A4]

R\mathbb{R} has the least upper bound property and least upper bounds in it are unique; for reals s<ts < t one has s<(s+t)/2<ts < (s+t)/2 < t; 0s<10 \le s < 1 gives s<(s+1)/2<1s < (s+1)/2 < 1 (Complete ordered field (least-upper-bound property), Suprema and infima are unique, Lower bound, bounded below, bounded set).

[A6]

Assuming ACω\mathrm{AC}_\omega, every at most countable Aω1A \subseteq \omega_1 satisfies supA=Aω1\sup A = \bigcup A \in \omega_1 with αsupA\alpha \le \sup A for every αA\alpha \in A (Assuming countable choice: every at most countable subset of ω1\omega_1 is bounded below ω1\omega_1, so no at most countable subset of ω1\omega_1 is cofinal in it, and a supremum of at most countably many at most countable ordinals is at most countable, claim (a), The Axiom of Countable Choice (ACω\mathrm{AC}_\omega)).

[A7]

A nonempty set is at most countable exactly when some surjection N\mathbb{N} \to it exists (A nonempty set is at most countable iff it is a surjective image of N\mathbb{N}, Finite, countably infinite, countable, uncountable).

Proof

technique · direct
1.1

RR has at least two elements, namely (0,0)(0,0) and (0,1/2)(0,1/2), which differ and satisfy (0,0)<(0,1/2)(0,0) < (0,1/2) by [A1] and [A4].

A1A4
1.2

RR is order-dense. Let (α,s)<(β,t)(\alpha,s) < (\beta,t). If α=β\alpha = \beta then s<ts < t and (α,(s+t)/2)(\alpha, (s+t)/2) lies strictly between, by [A4]. If α<β\alpha < \beta then s<(s+1)/2<1s < (s+1)/2 < 1 by [A4], so (α,(s+1)/2)R(\alpha, (s+1)/2) \in R lies strictly above (α,s)(\alpha,s) and strictly below (β,t)(\beta,t), its first coordinate being α<β\alpha < \beta.

A1A4
1.3

Let SRS \subseteq R be nonempty with an upper bound (β0,t0)(\beta_0, t_0), and put A:={αω1:(α,s)S for some s}A := \{\, \alpha \in \omega_1 : (\alpha, s) \in S \text{ for some } s \,\}, a nonempty set of ordinals with αβ0\alpha \le \beta_0 for every αA\alpha \in A; so γ:=A\gamma := \bigcup A is an ordinal with γβ0\gamma \le \beta_0, hence γω1\gamma \in \omega_1 by [A2] and [A3].

A1A2A3
1.4

For claim 3 let DRD \subseteq R be at most countable. If D=D = \varnothing then 0R0_R is an upper bound of DD by [A1] and there is nothing more to prove, so assume DD \ne \varnothing and let AD:={α:(α,s)D for some s}A_D := \{\, \alpha : (\alpha,s) \in D \text{ for some } s \,\}, a nonempty subset of ω1\omega_1.

A1A7
2.1

Suppose first γA\gamma \in A, and put T:={s[0,1):(γ,s)S}T := \{\, s \in [0,1) : (\gamma, s) \in S \,\}, which is nonempty and bounded above by 11; let u:=supTu := \sup T in R\mathbb{R}, which exists and is unique by [A4], with 0u10 \le u \le 1.

step 1.3A4
2.2

Suppose instead γA\gamma \notin A; then every αA\alpha \in A satisfies α<γ\alpha < \gamma, since αγ\alpha \le \gamma by [A2] and αγ\alpha \ne \gamma.

step 1.3A2
2.3

ADA_D is at most countable: by [A7] there is a surjection f:NDf : \mathbb{N} \to D, and composing it with the first-coordinate map gives a surjection NAD\mathbb{N} \to A_D, so [A7] applies again.

step 1.4A7
3.1

In the case of step 2.1 with u<1u < 1, the element (γ,u)R(\gamma, u) \in R is the least upper bound of SS: it bounds SS, since (α,s)S(\alpha,s) \in S has αγ\alpha \le \gamma and, when α=γ\alpha = \gamma, sTs \in T so sus \le u; and any upper bound (β,t)(\beta,t) of SS has βγ\beta \ge \gamma, because SS contains an element with first coordinate γ\gamma, and if β=γ\beta = \gamma then tt bounds TT so tut \ge u.

step 2.1A1A4
3.2

In the case of step 2.1 with u=1u = 1, the element (γ+,0)R(\gamma^{+}, 0) \in R is the least upper bound of SS: it bounds SS, since every (α,s)S(\alpha,s) \in S has αγ<γ+\alpha \le \gamma < \gamma^{+}; and an upper bound (β,t)(\beta,t) cannot have β<γ\beta < \gamma, SS containing an element with first coordinate γ\gamma, nor β=γ\beta = \gamma, since then tt would bound TT and give tu=1t \ge u = 1 against t<1t < 1; so β>γ\beta > \gamma, that is βγ+\beta \ge \gamma^{+} by [A2], and (β,t)(γ+,0)(\beta,t) \ge (\gamma^{+},0). Here γ+ω1\gamma^{+} \in \omega_1 by [A3].

step 2.1A1A2A3A4
3.3

In the case of step 2.2, the element (γ,0)R(\gamma, 0) \in R is the least upper bound of SS: it bounds SS, since every (α,s)S(\alpha,s) \in S has α<γ\alpha < \gamma; and if an upper bound (β,t)(\beta,t) had β<γ=A\beta < \gamma = \bigcup A then β\beta would not bound AA by [A2], so some αA\alpha \in A has β<α\beta < \alpha and the corresponding element of SS exceeds (β,t)(\beta,t) — impossible; so βγ\beta \ge \gamma and (β,t)(γ,0)(\beta,t) \ge (\gamma,0).

step 2.2A1A2
3.4

By [A6] the ordinal μ:=supAD\mu := \sup A_D lies in ω1\omega_1 and satisfies αμ\alpha \le \mu for every αAD\alpha \in A_D; this is the one step at which ACω\mathrm{AC}_\omega is spent.

step 2.3A6
4.1

Steps 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 exhaust the cases and give a least upper bound in each, so RR has the least upper bound property; with steps 1.1 and 1.2 this makes RR a linear continuum by [A5]. This is claim 1.

step 1.1step 1.2step 1.3step 3.1step 3.2step 3.3A5
5.1

Claim 2 follows: RR is connected and every order-convex subset of RR is connected by [A5], and each initial segment [0R,x][0_R, x] is order-convex, being defined by an inequality closed under passing to intermediate points.

step 4.1A5
6.1

Then μ+ω1\mu^{+} \in \omega_1 by [A3], and (μ+,0)R(\mu^{+}, 0) \in R is an upper bound of DD: every (α,s)D(\alpha,s) \in D has αAD\alpha \in A_D, hence αμ<μ+\alpha \le \mu < \mu^{+} by [A2] and step 3.4, so (α,s)<(μ+,0)(\alpha,s) < (\mu^{+},0). This is claim 3.

step 1.4step 3.4A1A2A3

Remarks

Depends on

Used by

Cited to discharge well-definedness by The closed long ray ω₁ × [0,1) under the lexicographic order, and the long line, with the order topology.

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