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Math 6730-001: Set Theory, Fall 2025


Lecture Topics


Date
What we discussed/How we spent our time
Aug 22
Course Notes
NST: Notes on Set Theory by J. Donald Monk

Syllabus. Evaluation. Logic. Logic 2. Logic Exercises. Solutions to Logic Exercises.

Aug 25
Course Notes
Reading on logic: NST 1-77.

We reviewed some concepts from logic:

Aug 27
Course Notes
Reading on logic: NST 1-77.

We continued reviewing (first-order) logic:

  1. First-order languages.
  2. First-order structures.
  3. Syntax. (Terms, Atomic Formulas, Formulas, Sentences)
  4. Semantics. ($\mathbf{A}\models \sigma$)
The following handouts were used.
Aug 29
Course Notes
Reading on logic: NST 1-77.

We continued reviewing (first-order) logic:

  1. Provability (see pages 30 and 32 of NST) versus truth. Consequence relations.
  2. The Gödel Completeness Theorem.
  3. The Compactness Theorem.
The following slides were used.
Sep 3
Course Notes
Reading on logic: NST 78-172.

We started to review Chapter 2 of NST (= Elementary Set Theory).

  1. The First- and Second-Order Peano Axioms.
  2. The ZFC Axioms (up to Comprehension).
Sep 5
Course Notes
Reading on logic: NST 78-172. Kunen, Chapter 1, Sections 3 and 4.

We continued reviewing Chapter 2 of NST (= Elementary Set Theory).

  1. The ZFC Axioms. Models.
    • Expanding the language. ($\emptyset, \subseteq, \subset, \cap, \bigcap, \cup, \bigcup$, set braces)
    • Sets versus classes.
    • Russell's Paradox.
    • Ordered pairs and relations.
Sep 8
Course Notes
Reading on logic: NST 78-172. Kunen, Chapter 1, Sections 3 and 4.

We continued reviewing Chapter 2 of NST (= Elementary Set Theory).

  1. Recursion.
  2. The natural numbers object in a model of ZFC. (Definition + order + arithmetic handout + arithmetic + hints handout + arithmetic slides.)
Sep 10
Course Notes
Reading on logic: NST 78-172.

Four student presentations.

Sep 12
Course Notes
Reading on logic: NST 78-172.

We continued reviewing Chapter 2 of NST (= Elementary Set Theory).

  1. $\langle \mathbb{N}; 0, S(x), x+y, xy, x^y, <\rangle$.
    • If $n\in\mathbb{N}$ and $k\in n$, then $k\in \mathbb{N}$. Hence each $n\in\mathbb{N}$ is the set of its predecessors.
    • $\mathbb{N}$ is a transitive set of transitive sets.
    • $\langle \mathbb{N}; <\rangle$ is a well-ordered set.
  2. $\mathbb{N}\to \mathbb{Z}\to \mathbb{Q}\to \mathbb{R}\to \mathbb{C}$.
  3. Ordinal Numbers.
Sep 15
Course Notes
Reading on logic: NST 78-172.

We continued reviewing Chapter 2 of NST (= Elementary Set Theory).

  1. Ordinal Numbers.
    • Definition.
    • Exercises at seats from the Ordinals Numbers handout!
    • A 2-page fragment from NST.
    • ON is closed under class-size intersections and set-size unions.
    • Burali-Forti Paradox.
    • ON is well-ordered in the class sense, and each $\alpha\in$ ON is the set of its $\in$-predecessors.
  2. Some questions that arose in the previous meeting (Sep 12).
    • Q: How many $4$-element sets are transitive?
      • A: There are 9. First show that any nonempty transitive set contains the element $\emptyset = 0$. Then show that any transitive set with more than one element contains $\{0\} = 1$. Next show that any transitive set with more than two elements contains either the element $\{0,1\} = 2$ or the element $\{1\}$. Next show that a transitive set of four elements has the form $\{0,1,2,X\}$ or $\{0,1,\{1\}, X\}$ for some $X\in \mathcal{P}(\{0,1,2,\{1\}\})$. By examining the possibilities, one finds that there are four transitive sets of the form $\{0,1,2,X\}$ with $2\in X$, four more of the form $\{0,1,\{1\}, X\}$ with $\{1\}\in X$, and one final transitive set of the form $\{0,1,2,\{1\}\}$. The complete list is:
        • $\{0,1,2,\{2\}\}$
        • $\{0,1,2,\{0,2\}\}$
        • $\{0,1,2,\{1,2\}\}$
        • $\{0,1,2,\{0,1,2\}\}$
        • $\{0,1,\{1\},\{\{1\}\}\}$
        • $\{0,1,\{1\},\{0,\{1\}\}\}$
        • $\{0,1,\{1\},\{1,\{1\}\}\}$
        • $\{0,1,\{1\},\{0,1,\{1\},\{\{1\}\}\}$
        • $\{0,1,2,\{1\}\}$
    • Q: Is the class of limit ordinals a proper class?
      • A: Yes. A class of ordinals is a set if and only if it is bounded above. To see this, assume that $A$ is a set of ordinals. Then $\alpha:=\bigcup A$ is the least upper bound of the ordinals in $A$. This shows that any SET of ordinals is bounded above. Conversely, if $B$ is a class of ordinals that is bounded above, say by $\beta$, then $B$ is a subclass of the set $\{x\in S(\beta)\;|\;x \;\text{is an ordinal}\}$, hence $B$ is a set.

        Finally, the class $L$ of limit ordinals is not bounded above. To see this, assume $\gamma$ is a potential upper bound for $L$. The union of the set $\{\gamma, S(\gamma), SS(\gamma), SSS(\gamma), \ldots\}$ is a limit ordinal strictly above $\gamma$. Summarizing: no $\gamma$ can be an upper bound for the class $L$ of limit ordinals, so $L$ is a proper class.

Sep 17
Course Notes
Reading on logic: NST 78-172.

We continued reviewing Chapter 2 of NST (= Elementary Set Theory).

  1. Transfinite induction and recursion (I+R).
    • Simple I+R.
    • I+R with parameters.
    • Course-of-values I+R
    • Truncated I+R.
  2. Zermelo’s Theorem (= Well-Ordering Theorem).
  3. A question that arose in the previous meeting (Sep 15).
    • Q: The number of $n$-element transitive sets for $n=0,1,2,3,4$ is $1,1,1,2,4$. This looks like OEIS sequence A001142. Is it?
      • A: No. The number of $n$-element transitive sets is given by OEIS sequence A001192. The two sequences start to differ at $n=5$.
Sep 19
Course Notes
Reading on logic: NST 78-172.

We continued reviewing Chapter 2 of NST (= Elementary Set Theory).

  1. Cardinal numbers.
    • Definition.
    • Cantor’s Theorem.
    • CBS Theorem.
    • Regular and singular cardinals.
  2. Cardinal arithmetic.
    • The Main Theorem of Cardinal Arithmetic can be found on pages 154-156 of NST.
Sep 22
Course Notes
Reading on logic: NST 78-172.

We continued reviewing Chapter 2 of NST (= Elementary Set Theory).

  1. Cardinals.
    • Definitions.
    • Remarks.
      • Cardinal arithmetic is well-defined.
      • $+$ is commutative, associative, unit $0$.
      • $\ast$ is commutative, associative, unit $1$, absorbing element $0$.
      • $\ast$ distributes over $+$.
      • Exponentiation satisfies the expected rules.
      • Ordinal and cardinal arithmetic agree on $\omega$.
      • Ordinal and cardinal arithmetic disagree on some infinite cardinals. In particular, we do not expect commutativity for ordinal addition or multiplication.
      • The definitions of cardinal arithmetic can be extended to infinite sums and products: e.g., $$\Sigma \kappa_i = \kappa_0+\kappa_1+\kappa_2+\cdots = |\kappa_0\sqcup \kappa_1\sqcup \kappa_2\sqcup\cdots| = |\bigsqcup \kappa_i|.$$
    • Theorem. For all infinite $\kappa$, $\kappa\ast \kappa = \kappa$.
    • Cardinal arithmetic.
Sep 24
Course Notes
Reading on logic: NST 78-172.

We continued reviewing Chapter 2 of NST (= Elementary Set Theory).

  1. We spent the day discussing equivalent forms of AC (Section 10 of NST), in particular the form that asserts that for every infinite $A$ we have $|A\times A|=|A|$.
Sep 26
Course Notes
Reading on logic: NST 78-172.

Three student presentations.

Sep 29
Course Notes
Reading on logic: NST 78-172.

We continued reviewing Chapter 2 of NST (= Elementary Set Theory).

  1. One student presentation.
  2. We discussed the equivalence of AC and Zorn’s Lemma.
Oct 1
Course Notes
Reading on logic: NST 78-172.

We continued reviewing Chapter 2 of NST (= Elementary Set Theory).

  1. We discussed the use of Zorn’s Lemma in the ZFC proof that $(\forall A^{\text{inf}})(|A\times A|=|A|)$.
  2. We introduced the Hartogs Number ($h(A), H(A)$, or $\aleph(A)$) and the Lindenbaum Number ($L(A)$, or $\aleph^*(A)$) and explained why $\aleph(A)\leq \aleph^*(A)$ for every set $A$.
  3. We showed that we can derive AC from ZF+$(\forall A^{\text{inf}})(|A\times A|=|A|)$. An analysis of the argument showed that we actually derived AC from ZF+($(\forall B^{\text{inf}})\;(|B\times \aleph(B)|\leq |B\sqcup \aleph(B)|)$).
Oct 3
Course Notes
Reading on logic: NST 78-172.

We continued reviewing Chapter 2 of NST (= Elementary Set Theory).

  1. We began by making some comments about cardinal exponentiation:
    • The function $(\kappa,\lambda)\mapsto \kappa^{\lambda}$ is monotone in both variables.
    • It is known that class of triples $(\alpha,\beta,\gamma)$ for which $\aleph_{\alpha}^{\aleph_{\beta}}=\aleph_{\gamma}$ is not determined by the axioms of ZFC. For example, ZFC does not determine whether $\aleph_{0}^{\aleph_{0}}=\aleph_{1}$.
    • We defined the functions $\aleph$ (Aleph), $\beth$ (Beth), $\gimel$ (Gimel).
    • We defined the Continuum Hypothesis (CH) and the Generalized Continuum Hypothesis (GCH).
  2. We evaluated $\kappa^{\lambda}$ when (i) $\kappa,\lambda\in\omega$, (ii) $\kappa\in \{0,1\}$, (ii) $\lambda\in \{0,1\}$.
  3. We showed that if $2\leq \kappa$, $\lambda$ is infinite, and $\kappa\leq\lambda$, then $\kappa^{\lambda}=2^{\kappa}$. The proof used an instance of the cardinal exponentiation rule $(\kappa^{\lambda})^{\mu} = \kappa^{\lambda\cdot\mu}$, which we discussed.
  4. We discussed cofinality for posets in general and for ordinals in particular. We recalled the definition of regular and singular cardinals. Some observations we made about cofinality of infinite cardinals were
    • $\text{cf}(\kappa) \leq \kappa$
    • $\text{cf}(\text{cf}(\kappa)) = \text{cf}(\kappa)$
    • $\text{cf}(\kappa)$ is a regular cardinal.
Oct 6
Course Notes
Reading on logic: NST 78-172.

We continued reviewing Chapter 2 of NST (= Elementary Set Theory).

Today’s topics:

  1. König’s Theorem: If $\lambda_i$ and $\kappa_i$ are cardinals and $\lambda_i<\kappa_i$ for all $i\in I$, then $\sum_{i\in I} \lambda_i < \prod_{i\in I} \kappa_i$.
  2. Corollary 1. (Cantor’s Theorem) If $\kappa$ is a cardinal, then $\kappa < 2^{\kappa}$.
  3. Corollary 2. (König’s Corollary) $\kappa < \kappa^{\text{cf}(\kappa)}$.
  4. Corollary 3. $\aleph_{\alpha} < \text{cf}(2^{\aleph_{\alpha}})$.
  5. We began discussing the Main Theorem of Cardinal Arithmentic, Theorem 11.58 of NST. We proved Parts (1), (2), and (3)(a), but not Part (3)(b) yet.
Oct 8
Course Notes
Reading on logic: NST 78-172.

We continued reviewing Chapter 2 of NST (= Elementary Set Theory).

We completed the discussion of the Main Theorem of Cardinal Arithmetic following these slides.

Oct 10
Course Notes
Reading on logic: NST 78-172.

We continued reviewing Chapter 2 of NST (= Elementary Set Theory).

We discussed the cofinality of cardinals following these slides.