arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Stevo Todorcevic.
We prove that for every integer $b\geqslant 2$ and positive real $\varepsilon$ there exists a finite number $t$ such that for every finite coloring of the nondecreasing surjections from $b^ω$ onto $b^ω$, there exist $t$ many colors such that their $\varepsilon$-fattening contains a cube.
Motivated by Tukey classification problems and building on work in \cite{Dobrinen/Todorcevic11}, we develop a new hierarchy of topological Ramsey spaces $\mathcal{R}_α$, $α<ω_1$. These spaces form a natural hierarchy of complexity, $\mathcal{R}_0$ being the Ellentuck space, and for each $α<ω_1$, $\mathcal{R}_{α+1}$ coming immediately after $\mathcal{R}_α$ in complexity. Associated with each $\mathcal{R}_α$ is an ultrafilter $\mathcal{U}_α$, which is Ramsey for $\mathcal{R}_α$, and in particular, is a rapid p-point satisfying certain partition properties. We prove Ramsey-classification theorems for equivalence relations on fronts on $\mathcal{R}_α$, $2\leα<ω_1$. These are analogous to the Pudlak-\Rodl\ Theorem canonizing equivalence relations on barriers on the Ellentuck space. We then apply our Ramsey-classification theorems to completely classify all Rudin-Keisler equivalence classes of ultrafilters which are Tukey reducible to $\mathcal{U}_α$, for each $2\leα<ω_1$: Every ultrafilter which is Tukey reducible to $\mathcal{U}_α$ is isomorphic to a countable iteration of Fubini products of ultrafilters from among a fixed countable collection of rapid p-points. Moreover, we show that the Tukey types of nonprincipal ultrafilters Tukey reducible to $\mathcal{U}_α$ form a descending chain of order type $α+1$.
We prove that the injectively omega-tree-automatic ordinals are the ordinals smaller than $ω^{ω^ω}$. Then we show that the injectively $ω^n$-automatic ordinals, where $n>0$ is an integer, are the ordinals smaller than $ω^{ω^n}$. This strengthens a recent result of Schlicht and Stephan who considered in [Schlicht-Stephan11] the subclasses of finite word $ω^n$-automatic ordinals. As a by-product we obtain that the hierarchy of injectively $ω^n$-automatic structures, n>0, which was considered in [Finkel-Todorcevic12], is strict.
Motivated by a Tukey classification problem we develop here a new topological Ramsey space $\mathcal{R}_1$ that in its complexity comes immediately after the classical is a natural Ellentuck space \cite{MR0349393}. Associated with $\mathcal{R}_1$ is an ultrafilter $\mathcal{U}_1$ which is weakly Ramsey but not Ramsey. We prove a canonization theorem for equivalence relations on fronts on $\mathcal{R}_1$. This is analogous to the Pudlak-\Rodl\ Theorem canonizing equivalence relations on barriers on the Ellentuck space. We then apply our canonization theorem to completely classify all Rudin-Keisler equivalence classes of ultrafilters which are Tukey reducible to $\mathcal{U}_1$: Every ultrafilter which is Tukey reducible to $\mathcal{U}_1$ is isomorphic to a countable iteration of Fubini products of ultrafilters from among a fixed countable collection of ultrafilters. Moreover, we show that there is exactly one Tukey type of nonprincipal ultrafilters strictly below that of $\mathcal{U}_1$, namely the Tukey type a Ramsey ultrafilter.
We consider $ω^n$-automatic structures which are relational structures whose domain and relations are accepted by automata reading ordinal words of length $ω^n$ for some integer $n\geq 1$. We show that all these structures are $ω$-tree-automatic structures presentable by Muller or Rabin tree automata. We prove that the isomorphism relation for $ω^2$-automatic (resp. $ω^n$-automatic for $n>2$) boolean algebras (respectively, partial orders, rings, commutative rings, non commutative rings, non commutative groups) is not determined by the axiomatic system ZFC. We infer from the proof of the above result that the isomorphism problem for $ω^n$-automatic boolean algebras, $n > 1$, (respectively, rings, commutative rings, non commutative rings, non commutative groups) is neither a $Σ_2^1$-set nor a $Π_2^1$-set. We obtain that there exist infinitely many $ω^n$-automatic, hence also $ω$-tree-automatic, atomless boolean algebras $B_n$, $n\geq 1$, which are pairwise isomorphic under the continuum hypothesis CH and pairwise non isomorphic under an alternate axiom AT, strengthening a result of [FT10].
We investigate the structure of the Tukey types of ultrafilters on countable sets partially ordered by reverse inclusion. A canonization of cofinal maps from a p-point into another ultrafilter is obtained. This is used in particular to study the Tukey types of p-points and selective ultrafilters. Results fall into three main categories: comparison to a basis element for selective ultrafilters, embeddings of chains and antichains into the Tukey types, and Tukey types generated by block-basic ultrafilters on FIN.
We consider the notion of multiple gap as a finite set of ideals that cannot be separated. We study the different types of such objects that can be found in the Boolean algebra of subsets of the natural numbers modulo finite sets.
An $ω$-tree-automatic structure is a relational structure whose domain and relations are accepted by Muller or Rabin tree automata. We investigate in this paper the isomorphism problem for $ω$-tree-automatic structures. We prove first that the isomorphism relation for $ω$-tree-automatic boolean algebras (respectively, partial orders, rings, commutative rings, non commutative rings, non commutative groups, nilpotent groups of class n >1) is not determined by the axiomatic system ZFC. Then we prove that the isomorphism problem for $ω$-tree-automatic boolean algebras (respectively, partial orders, rings, commutative rings, non commutative rings, non commutative groups, nilpotent groups of class n >1) is neither a $Σ_2^1$-set nor a $Π_2^1$-set.
We discuss some open problems in the Geometry of Banach spaces having Ramsey-theoretic flavor. The problems are exposed together with well known results related to them.
We provide two examples of complex homogeneous quadratic polynomials P on Banach spaces of the form l_1(I). The first polynomial P has both separable and nonseparable maximal zero subspaces. The second polynomial P has the property that while the index-set I is not countable, all zero subspaces of P are separable.
We study the problem of the existence of unconditional basic sequences in Banach spaces of high density. We show, in particular, the relative consistency with GCH of the statement that every Banach space of density $\aleph_ω$ contains an unconditional basic sequence.
Local sentences were introduced by J.-P. Ressayre who proved certain remarkable stretching theorems establishing the equivalence between the existence of finite models for these sentences and the existence of some infinite well ordered models. Two of these stretching theorems were only proved under certain large cardinal axioms but the question of their exact (consistency) strength was left open in [O. Finkel and J.-P. Ressayre, Stretchings, Journal of Symbolic Logic, Volume 61 (2), 1996, p. 563-585 ]. Here, we solve this problem, using a combinatorial result of J. H. Schmerl. In fact, we show that the stretching principles are equivalent to the existence of n-Mahlo cardinals for appropriate integers n. This is done by proving first that for each integer n, there is a local sentence phi_n which has well ordered models of order type alpha, for every infinite ordinal alpha > omega which is not an n-Mahlo cardinal.
We present a Banach space $\mathfrak X$ with a Schauder basis of length $ω\_1$ which is saturated by copies of $c\_0$ and such that for every closed decomposition of a closed subspace $X=X\_0\oplus X\_1$, either $X\_0$ or $X\_1$ has to be separable. This can be considered as the non-separable counterpart of the notion of hereditarily indecomposable space. Indeed, the subspaces of $\mathfrak X$ have ``few operators'' in the sense that every bounded operator $T:X \to \mathfrak{X}$ from a subspace $X$ of $\mathfrak{X}$ into $\mathfrak{X}$ is the sum of a multiple of the inclusion and a $ω\_1$-singular operator, i.e., an operator $S$ which is not an isomorphism on any non-separable subspace of $X$. We also show that while $\mathfrak{X}$ is not distortable (being $c\_0$-saturated), it is arbitrarily $ω\_1$-distortable in the sense that for every $λ>1$ there is an equivalent norm $\||\cdot \||$ on $\mathfrak{X}$ such that for every non-separable subspace $X$ of $\mathfrak{X}$ there are $x,y\in S\_X$ such that $\||\cdot \|| / \||\cdot \||\ge \la$.
We study the existence of pointwise Kadec renormings for Banach spaces of the form $C(K)$. We show in particular that such a renorming exists when $K$ is any product of compact linearly ordered spaces, extending the result for a single factor due to Haydon, Jayne, Namioka and Rogers. We show that if $C(K_1)$ has a pointwise Kadec renorming and $K_2$ belongs to the class of spaces obtained by closing the class of compact metrizable spaces under inverse limits of transfinite continuous sequences of retractions, then $C(K_1\times K_2)$ has a pointwise Kadec renorming. We also prove a version of the three-space property for such renormings.