The Proper Forcing Axiom, Prikry forcing, and the Singular Cardinals Hypothesis

The purpose of this paper is to present some results which suggest that the Singular Cardinals Hypothesis follows from the Proper Forcing Axiom. What will be proved is that a form of simultaneous reflection follows from the Set Mapping Reflection Principle, a consequence of PFA. While the results fall short of showing that MRP implies SCH, it will be shown that MRP implies that if SCH fails first at kappa then every stationary subset of S_{kappa^+}^omega = {a < kappa^+ : cf(a) = omega} reflects. It will also be demonstrated that MRP always fails in a generic extension by Prikry forcing.Comment: 7 page

A general tool for consistency results related to I1

In this paper we provide a general tool to prove the consistency of $I1(\lambda)$ with various combinatorial properties at $\lambda$ typical at settings with $2^\lambda>\lambda^+$, that does not need a profound knowledge of the forcing notions involved. Examples of such properties are the first failure of GCH, a very good scale and the negation of the approachability property, or the tree property at $\lambda^+$ and $\lambda^{++}$

The Proper Forcing Axiom and the Singular Cardinal Hypothesis

We show that the Proper Forcing Axiom implies the Singular Cardinal Hypothesis. The proof is by interpolation and uses the Mapping Reflection Principle.Comment: 10 page

Laver and set theory

In this commemorative article, the work of Richard Laver is surveyed in its full range and extent.Accepted manuscrip

Contributions to the theory of Large Cardinals through the method of Forcing

[eng] The present dissertation is a contribution to the field of Mathematical Logic and, more particularly, to the subfield of Set Theory. Within Set theory, we are mainly concerned with the interactions between the largecardinal axioms and the method of Forcing. This is the line of research with a deeper impact in the subsequent configuration of modern Mathematics. This area has found many central applications in Topology [ST71][Tod89], Algebra [She74][MS94][DG85][Dug85], Analysis [Sol70] or Category Theory [AR94][Bag+15], among others. The dissertation is divided in two thematic blocks: In Block I we analyze the large-cardinal hierarchy between the first supercompact cardinal and Vopenka’s Principle (Part I). In Block II we make a contribution to Singular Cardinal Combinatorics (Part II and Part III). Specifically, in Part I we investigate the Identity Crisis phenomenon in the region comprised between the first supercompact cardinal and Vopenka’s Principle. As a result, we settle all the questions that were left open in [Bag12, §5]. Afterwards, we present a general theory of preservation of C(n)– extendible cardinals under class forcing iterations from which we derive many applications. In Part II and Part III we analyse the relationship between the Singular Cardinal Hypothesis (SCH) and other combinatorial principles, such as the tree property or the reflection of stationary sets. In Part II we generalize the main theorems of [FHS18] and [Sin16] and manage to weaken the largecardinal hypotheses necessary for Magidor-Shelah’s theorem [MS96]. Finally, in Part III we introduce the concept of _-Prikry forcing as a generalization of the classical notion of Prikry-type forcing. Subsequently we devise an abstract iteration scheme for this family of posets and, as an application, we prove the consistency of ZFC + ¬SCH_ + Refl([cat] La present tesi és una contribució a l’estudi de la Lògica Matemàtica i més particularment a la Teoria de Conjunts. Dins de la Teoria de Conjunts, la nostra àrea de recerca s’emmarca dins l’estudi de les interaccions entre els Axiomes de Grans Cardinals i el mètode de Forcing. Aquestes dues eines han tigut un impacte molt profund en la configuració de la matemàtica contemporànea com a conseqüència de la resolució de qüestions centrals en Topologia [ST71][Tod89], Àlgebra [She74][MS94][DG85][Dug85], Anàlisi Matemàtica [Sol70] o Teoria de Categories [AR94][Bag+15], entre d’altres. La tesi s’articula entorn a dos blocs temàtics. Al Bloc I analitzem la jerarquia de Grans Cardinals compresa entre el primer cardinal supercompacte i el Principi de Vopenka (Part I), mentre que al Bloc II estudiem alguns problemes de la Combinatòria Cardinal Singular (Part II i Part III). Més precisament, a la Part I investiguem el fenòmen de Crisi d’Identitat en la regió compresa entre el primer cardinal supercompacte i el Principi de Vopenka. Com a conseqüència d’aquesta anàlisi resolem totes les preguntes obertes de [Bag12, §5]. Posteriorment presentem una teoria general de preservació de cardinals C(n)–extensibles sota iteracions de longitud ORD, de la qual en derivem nombroses aplicacions. A la Part II i Part III analitzem la relació entre la Hipòtesi dels Cardinals Singulars (SCH) i altres principis combinatoris, tals com la Propietat de l’Arbre o la reflexió de conjunts estacionaris. A la Part II obtenim sengles generalitzacions dels teoremes principals de [FHS18] i [Sin16] i afeblim les hipòtesis necessàries perquè el teorema de Magidor-Shelah [MS96] siga cert. Finalment, a la Part III, introduïm el concepte de forcing _-Prikry com a generalització de la noció clàssica de forcing del tipus Prikry. Posteriorment dissenyem un esquema d’iteracions abstracte per aquesta família de forcings i, com a aplicació, derivem la consistència de ZFC + ¬SCH_ + Refl

Rank-into-rank hypotheses and the failure of GCH

In this paper we are concerned about the ways GCH can fail in relation to rank-into-rank hypotheses, i.e., very large cardinals usually denoted by I3, I2, I1 and I0. The main results are a satisfactory analysis of the way the power function can vary on regular cardinals in the presence of rank-into-rank hypotheses and the consistency under I0 of the existence of j:V\u3bb+1 7aV\u3bb+1 with the failure of GCH at \u3bb