The motivation for this paper is the following: In [4] I showed that it is inconsistent with ZFC that the Maximality Principle for directed closed forcings holds at unboundedly many regular cardinals κ (even only allowing κ itself as a parameter in the Maximality Principle for <κ-closed forcings each time). So the question is whether it is consistent to have this principle at unboundedly many regular cardinals or at every regular cardinal below some large cardinal κ (instead of ∞), and if so, how strong it is. It turns out that it is consistent in many cases, but the consistency strength is quite high.

We show that either of the following hypotheses imply that there is an inner model with a proper class of strong cardinals and a proper class of Woodin cardinals. 1) There is a countably closed cardinal κ ≥ ℵ such that □κ and □(κ) fail. 2) There is a cardinal κ such that κ is weakly compact in the generic extension by Col(κ, κ+). Of special interest is 1) with κ = ℵ3 since it follows from PFA by theorems of Todorcevic and Velickovic. Our main new technical result, which is due to the first author, is a weak covering theorem for the model obtained by stacking mice over Kc∥κ.

We study the strictness of the modal μ-calculus hierarchy over some restricted classes of transition systems. First, we prove that over transitive systems the hierarchy collapses to the alternation-free fragment. In order to do this the finite model theorem for transitive transition systems is proved. Further, we verify that if symmetry is added to transitivity the hierarchy collapses to the purely modal fragment. Finally, we show that the hierarchy is strict over reflexive frames. By proving the finite model theorem for reflexive systems the same results holds for finite models.

Let Dtt denote the set of truth-table degrees. A bijection π: Dtt → Dtt is an automorphism if for all truth-table degrees x and y we have x ≤tty ⇔ π(x) ≤ttπ(y). We say an automorphism π is fixed on a cone if there is a degree b such that for all x ≥ttb we have π(x) = x. We first prove that for every 2-generic real X we have X′ ≰ttX ⊕ 0′. We next prove that for every real X ≥tt 0′ there is a real Y such that Y ⊕ 0′ ≡ttY′ ≡ttX. Finally, we use this to demonstrate that every automorphism of the truth-table degrees is fixed on a cone.

Since intuitionistic sets are not generally stable – their membership relations are not always closed under double negation – the open sets of a topology cannot be recovered from the closed sets of that topology via complementation, at least without further ado. Dana Scott asked, first, whether it is possible intuitionistically for two distinct topologies, given as collections of open sets on the same carrier, to share their closed sets. Second, he asked whether there can be intuitionistic functions that are closed continuous in that the inverse of every closed set is closed without being continuous in the usual, open sense. Here, we prove that, as far as intuitionistic set theory is concerned, there can be infinitely-many distinct topologies on the same carrier sharing a single collection of closed sets. The proof employs Heyting-valued sets, and demonstrates that the intuitionistic set theory IZF [4, 624], as well as the theory IZF plus classical elementary arithmetic, are both consistent with the statement that infinitely many topologies on the set of natural numbers share the same closed sets. Without changing models, we show that these formal theories are also consistent with the statement that there are infinitely many endofunctions on the natural numbers that are closed continuous but not open continuous with respect to a single topology.

For each prime k ∈ ω, let Ak be this ω-sequence of sets open in the standard topology on the closed unit interval: for each n ∈ ω,

We study the following open question in computable model theory: does there exist a structure of computable dimension two which is the prime model of its first-order theory? We construct an example of such a structure by coding a certain family of c.e. sets with exactly two one-to-one computable enumerations into a directed graph. We also show that there are examples of such structures in the classes of undirected graphs, partial orders, lattices, and integral domains.

We show that for every computable limit ordinal α, there is a computable structure that is categorical, but not relatively categorical (equivalently, it does not have a formally Scott family). We also show that for every computable limit ordinal α, there is a computable structure with an additional relation R that is intrinsically on , but not relatively intrinsically on (equivalently, it is not definable by a computable Σα formula with finitely many parameters). Earlier results in [7], [10], and [8] establish the same facts for computable successor ordinals α.

In this paper we develop a method for finding, under general conditions, explicit and highly uniform rates of convergence for the Picard iteration sequences for selfmaps on bounded metric spaces from ineffective proofs of convergence to a unique fixed point. We are able to extract full rates of convergence by extending the use of a logical metatheorem recently proved by Kohlenbach. In recent case studies we were able to find such explicit rates of convergence in two concrete cases. Our novel method now provides an explanation in logical terms for these findings. This amounts, loosely speaking, to general conditions under which we in this specific setting can transform a ∀∃∀-sentence into a ∀∃-sentence via an argument involving product spaces. This reduction in logical complexity allows us to use the existing machinery to extract quantitative bounds of the sort we need.

It is relatively consistent with ZFC that every countable FUfin space of weight ℵ1 is metrizable. This provides a partial answer to a question of G. Gruenhage and P. Szeptycki [GS1].

It is shown that there is a formula σ(g) in the first-order language of group theory with the following property: for every finite group G, the largest soluble normal subgroup of G consists precisely of the elements g of G such that σ(g) holds.

Hirschfeldt and Shore have introduced a notion of stability for infinite posets. We define an arguably more natural notion called weak stability, and we study the existence of infinite computable or low chains or antichains, and of infinite chains and antichains, in infinite computable stable and weakly stable posets. For example, we extend a result of Hirschfeldt and Shore to show that every infinite computable weakly stable poset contains either an infinite low chain or an infinite computable antichain. Our hardest result is that there is an infinite computable weakly stable poset with no infinite chains or antichains. On the other hand, it is easily seen that every infinite computable stable poset contains an infinite computable chain or an infinite antichain. In Reverse Mathematics, we show that SCAC, the principle that every infinite stable poset contains an infinite chain or antichain, is equivalent over RCA0 to WSAC, the corresponding principle for weakly stable posets.

We consider two axioms of second-order arithmetic. These axioms assert, in two different ways, that infinite but narrow binary trees always have infinite paths. We show that both axioms are strictly weaker than Weak König's Lemma, and incomparable in strength to the dual statement (WWKL) that wide binary trees have paths.

We continue the investigation of Gregory trees and the Cantor Tree Property carried out by Hart and Kunen. We produce models of MA with the Continuum arbitrarily large in which there are Gregory trees, and in which there are no Gregory trees.

There have been numerous results showing that a measurable cardinal κ can carry exactly α normal measures in a model of GCH. where α is a cardinal at most κ++. Starting with just one measurable cardinal, we have [9] (for α = 1), [10] (for α = α++, the maximum possible) and [1] (for α = κ+, after collapsing κ++). In addition, under stronger large cardinal hypotheses, one can handle the remaining cases: [12] (starting with a measurable cardinal of Mitchell order α), [2] (as in [12], but where κ is the least measurable cardinal and α is less than κ, starting with a measurable of high Mitchell order) and [11] (as in [12], but where κ is the least measurable cardinal, starting with an assumption weaker than a measurable cardinal of Mitchell order 2). In this article we treat all cases by a uniform argument, starting with only one measurable cardinal and applying a cofinality-preserving forcing. The proof uses κ-Sacks forcing and the “tuning fork” technique of [8]. In addition, we explore the possibilities for the number of normal measures on a cardinal at which the GCH fails.