Rothberger gaps in fragmented ideals

Abstract

The~\emph{Rothberger number} $\mathfrak{b} (\mathcal{I})$ of a definable ideal $\mathcal{I}$ on $ω$ is the least cardinal $κ$ such that there exists a Rothberger gap of type $(ω,κ)$ in the quotient algebra $\mathcal{P} (ω) / \mathcal{I}$. We investigate $\mathfrak{b} (\mathcal{I})$ for a subclass of the $F_σ$ ideals, the fragmented ideals, and prove that for some of these ideals, like the linear growth ideal, the Rothberger number is $\aleph_1$ while for others, like the polynomial growth ideal, it is above the additivity of measure. We also show that it is consistent that there are infinitely many (even continuum many) different Rothberger numbers associated with fragmented ideals.