Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-analytic-topology-and-axiomatic-set-theory-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2007/b/6/iii/solution
Past exam of the analytic topology and axiomatic set theory course of the University of Oxford 2007 B 6 iii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
An -isomorphism is a bijection such that if and only if for all . When is transitive, surjectivity gives the stronger recursive descriptionIndeed every member of belongs to because it is a transitive set and so has a preimage in ; the isomorphism property identifies exactly which preimages occur.
If are two such maps, possibly to different transitive sets, form . If were nonempty, Foundation would give with . All predecessors then satisfy , and the recursive descriptions force , a contradiction. Therefore the map and its transitive range are unique.
The necessary and sufficient condition is that be well-founded and extensional as a relation on . Well-foundedness says every nonempty has a member with no -predecessor in . The extensional relation condition says distinct elements have distinct predecessor sets , . Sufficiency is the Mostowski collapse theorem.
For necessity, an isomorphism transfers well-foundedness from its transitive range, where Foundation applies. For extensionality, if , the recursive descriptions give , and injectivity gives . Notice that ambient axiom of extensionality alone does not establish this internal predecessor condition; for example can have distinct elements with no predecessors in .
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