Saharon Shelah will officiate as
The VOrST
(The Vienna Oracle of Set Theory)
An informal workshop from July 16 to 18, 2025
at TU Wien, Austria
Still no satisfaction guaranteed.
Schedule including some abstracts and slides
Wed July 16 | ||
10:00-11:00 | Jindrich Zapletal | Geometric view of choiceless set theory I provide a streamlined theory of forcing extensions of the Solovay model. The parallel with geometric model theory is immediately apparent, as is the parallel with proper forcing. The method leads to many effortless consistency results in ZF. |
11:30-12:00 | José Nicolás Nájar Salinas slides | Abstract Elementary Classes and their axiomatizations: a review. In this talk, I survey known axiomatizations of Abstract Elementary Classes (AECs) and some known applications. Using the Shelah-Villaveces axiomatization, I show how it can be used to develop a game-theoretic criterion for determining whether a model belongs to a given AEC. |
13:30-14:00 | Tatsuya Goto slides | Keisler-Shelah theorem and (higher) cardinal invariants The Keisler-Shelah theorem is a significant theorem stating that if two structures are elementarily equivalent, their ultrapowers for some ultrafilter on some set are isomorphic. As for this theorem, several versions can be considered, imposing constraints on cardinalities of languages, cardinalities of structures, and cardinalities of underlying sets of ultrafilters. In this talk, we will examine the relationship between these versions and cardinal invariants. |
14:15-14:45 | Arkady Leiderman slides | Topological games related to the $\Delta$-sets of reals Definition 1. For a Hausdorff space $X$ let $\mathcal{P}$ be a family of subsets of $X$. Player I and Player II play on $X$ a game $G_{\mathcal P}$ as follows. Player I starts and on each stage $n\in\omega$ chooses a subset $X_n \in \mathcal{P}$ such that $X_0 = \emptyset$ and every $X_n$ is disjoint with all previously chosen sets $\langle X_i \mid i \leq n-1 \rangle$. Player II responds at stage $n\in\omega$ by choosing an open set $U_n \subseteq X$ such that $X_n \subseteq U_n$ for every $n\in\omega$. So, playing $G$, the players produce a sequence of pairs $\langle (X_n, U_n) \mid n \in \omega \rangle$. Player II wins if after $\omega$ moves the family of open sets $\langle U_n \mid n \in \omega \rangle$ is point-finite; otherwise, Player I wins. Definition 2. Denote by $G(\Delta)$ the game $G_{\mathcal P}$ where $\mathcal{P}$ is the family of all subsets of $X$; denote by $G(\Delta_0)$ the game $G_{\mathcal P}$ where $\mathcal{P}$ is the family $\{\emptyset\}\cup\{\{x\}\mid x \in X\}$; denote by $G(\Delta_1)$ the game $G_{\mathcal P}$ where $\mathcal{P}$ is the family consisting of all countable subsets of $X$; denote by $G(\Delta_2)$ the game $G_{\mathcal P}$ where $\mathcal{P}$ is the family consisting of all compact subsets of $X$. Problem 1. Find characterizations of the classes of topological spaces $X$ for which the games $G(\Delta)$, $G(\Delta_2)$, $G(\Delta_1)$, and $G(\Delta_0)$ are determined. Problem 2. Is the game $G(\Delta)$ determined, assuming that $X$ is a $\Delta$-set or a $Q$-set of reals? |
15:00-15:50 | Sakaé Fuchino slides | Laver generic Large Cardinal Axioms and Laver Generic Maximum $\mathcal{P}$-LgLCA for LC (Laver-generic Large Cardinal Axiom for given class $\mathcal{P}$ of posets and notion LC of large cardinal) is the assertion that $\kappa_\mathfrak{refl}:=\max\{\aleph_2,2^{\aleph_0}\}$ is the critical point of $\mathcal{P}$-generic elementary embeddings which are established ""resurrectingly"", whose target models are closed with respect to the closure property of LC, and the target models know well about the generic extension involved. I shall discuss known results in connection with this family of axioms, and open problems in the context. |
16:00-16:30 | Márk Poor slides | Shelah groups in ZFC In a paper from 1980, Shelah constructed a Jonsson group of size $\aleph_1$. Assuming CH, he moreover obtained what is now known as a ""Shelah group"" of size $\aleph_1$, i.e., an uncountable group such that for some integer $N$, the collection of all $N$-sized words over the alphabet of any given uncountable subset of the group resurrects the whole group. In this talk, we shall present a ZFC construction of a Shelah group at the level of any successor of a regular cardinal. We shall also address the problem of constructing Shelah groups at successors of singulars and at inaccessibles. This is joint work with A. Rinot. |
Thu July 17 | ||
10:00-11:00 | Ashutosh Kumar | Set theory and Turing degrees We will discuss some set-theoretic problems about Turing degrees. |
11:30-12:00 | Jörg Brendle | Density Cardinals How many permutations are needed so that every infinite-coinfinite set of natural numbers with asymptotic density can be rearranged to no longer have the same density? We prove that the density number dd, which answers this question, is equal to the least size of a non-meager set of reals, non(M). We also consider variants of dd given by restricting the possible densities of the original set and / or of the permuted set, providing lower and upper bounds for these cardinals and proving consistency of strict inequalities. This is joint work with Christina Brech and Márcio Telles. |
13:30-14:00 | Tristan van der Vlugt slides | Some combinatorial questions about higher Baire spaces Higher Baire spaces are spaces of the form ${}^\kappa\kappa$, that is, the set of functions on $\kappa$, where $\kappa$ is some uncountable cardinal. In this talk we will especially be interested in generalising set theory of the reals and cardinal characteristics of the continuum. Starting with early results by Landver ('92), Cummings & Shelah ('95) and Zapletal ('97), the last couple of decades have seen an increase in interest for this topic. Many interesting open questions remain, of which we will provide a modest overview. |
14:15-14:45 | Takashi Yamazoe slides | Cardinal invariants of products of ideals For an ideal $\mathscr{I}$ on $\omega$, let $K_\mathscr{I}$ denote the $\sigma$-ideal generated by sets of the form $\prod_{n<\omega}I_n$ where $I_n\in\mathscr{I}$ for each $n<\omega$. We study cardinal invariants of $K_\mathscr{I}$ for various ideals $\mathscr{I}$. Among other things, we show that $\mathrm{non}(K_\mathcal{Z})$ and $\mathrm{cov}(K_\mathcal{Z})$ can be added to a model of Cicho\'n's maximum with distinct values, where $\mathcal{Z}$ denotes the asymptotic density zero ideal. This is a joint work with Aleksander Cie\'{s}lak, Takehiko Gappo and Arturo Mart\'{i}nez-Celis. |
15:15-16:15 | John Baldwin | Abstract Elementary Classes in the 21st century In this lecture I will give a survey of various developments in the study of abstract elementary classes in the 21st century. These will organized as internal and external developments. Internal developments will the contrast the role of a local and global approach and, in particular, the importance of frames and tameness in the two approaches. These routes merge in the Shelah-Vasey categoricity paper. External progress will consider the connections with accessible categories and the eventual categorical definition of forking, the role of large cardinal axioms and the weak generalized continuum hypothesis, and applications to the theory of modules and interactions with algebraic geometry and number theory. |
16:25-16:55 | Diego Alejandro Mejia Guzman slides | The cofinality of the strong measure zero ideal We present methods to bound the cofinality of the strong measure zero ideal and show how to control it in forcing iterations. We also discuss some open questions. |
Fri July 18 | ||
10:00-11:00 | Andrés Villaveces | Strong logics and AECs Abstract Elementary Classes (AECs) have often been presented as ways of doing model theory without the use of formulas, without theories — an apparently "purely semantic" approach. Yet, the fact that quite advanced model theory is (now) also done within the AEC framework belies that common description: there is indeed a deep (albeit implicit) logical control of the theory. In this lecture, I will revisit some older results towards axiomatizing AECs, present some newer ones, and also link it to strong logics such as Shelah's $L^1_\kappa$. In the end, I will present some new attempts at capturing the precise logic underlying AECs and their model theory. |
11:30-12:00 | Jan Hubička | Ramsey theorems for trees and big Ramsey degrees We discuss Ramsey theorem for trees which are motivated by proof of upper bounds for big Ramsey degrees of relational structures. These involve common generalizations of the Milliken tree theorem (in a variant for regularly branching tree) and the Carlson-Simpson theorem and their common extensions to trees with unbounded (but finite) branching. This is a joint work with Balko, Chodounský, Dobrinen, Hubička, Konečný, Nešetřil, Todorcevic, Unger and Zucker |
13:30-14:00 | Márton Elekes | Is there a largest small set? Zalpetal asked if there exists a largest nowhere dense set $A$ in the plane in the sense that for any other nowhere dense set $B$ there is a homeomorphism of the plane taking $B$ into a subset of $A$. Besides presenting an answer to this question, we also examine this problem for various ideals instead of the nowhere dense sets (and for the corresponding natural groups instead of the homeomorphisms). Joint work with A. Kocsis. |
14:15-14:45 | Máté András Pálfy | On various notions of universally Baire sets In the literature there are many different notions of a universally Baire set. In this talk I survey the relationship between the various notions. In fact, it turns out that there are four major classes of universally Baire sets and under CH all of this notions are really different. If there is time, I will argue that which universally Baire notion is dual to the universally measurable sets. |
15:00-15:50 | Istvan Juhász | Discrete density We call a subset $S$ of a topological space $X$ {\em discretely dense} in $X$ if every point of $X$ is in the closure of a discrete subset of $S$. The {\em discrete density $Dd(X)$} is then defined as the minimum cardinality of a discretely dense subset of $X$. In this talk is I give several results about discrete density, as well as other similar cardinal functions. Here is a short list of some of these results: If $X$ is $T_2$ then $Dd(X) \le 2^{w(X)}$ and if $X$ is $T_3$ then $Dd(X) \le 2^{nw(X)}$. It is consistent to have $X \subset 2^{\omega_1}$ s.t. $\vert X\vert = Dd(X) = \omega_2$. $d(2^\kappa) = Dd(2^\kappa) = \log \kappa$ for every cardinal $\kappa \ge \omega$. $Dd(\beta Q) = 2^\omega$. This is joint work with Alan Dow and Jan van Mill. |
Organizers: Martin Goldstern and Jakob Kellner