Borel sets with large squares
Volume 159 / 1999
Abstract
For a cardinal μ we give a sufficient condition $⊕_μ$ (involving ranks measuring existence of independent sets) for: $⊗_μ$ if a Borel set B ⊆ ℝ × ℝ contains a μ-square (i.e. a set of the form A × A with |A| =μ) then it contains a $2^{ℵ_0}$-square and even a perfect square, and also for $⊗'_μ$ if $ψ ∈ L_{ω_1, ω}$ has a model of cardinality μ then it has a model of cardinality continuum generated in a "nice", "absolute" way. Assuming $MA + 2^{ℵ_0} > μ$ for transparency, those three conditions ($⊕_μ$, $⊗_μ$ and $⊗'_μ$) are equivalent, and from this we deduce that e.g. $∧_{α < ω_1}[ 2^{ℵ_0}≥ ℵ_α ⇒ ￢ ⊗_{ℵ_α}]$, and also that $min{μ: ⊗_μ}$, if $ < 2^{ℵ_0}$, has cofinality $ℵ_1$. We also deal with Borel rectangles and related model-theoretic problems.
