Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2006/iii/paper-25/6/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2006 iii Paper 25 6 Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Let be an externally countable model of ZFC, and let . In form the forcing orderThis is the finite-function collapse to countable size. For every and , the internal setsare dense: extend a finite function by assigning a missing input, and use a fresh input to put any required value in its range.
Externally enumerate all the dense subsets of which recognizes as dense. There are only countably many, because is countable. Recursively choose in the th such dense set and let be the upward closure of this descending chain. This produces a generic filter over . By the forcing theorem, its generic extension satisfies ZFC. The canonical forcing name is forced to be a function with domain and range : the dense sets and ensure exactly these assertions. ThereforeIts new first uncountable ordinal is accordingly different from .
For a transitive , ordinary evaluation of names gives the familiar literal extension. The question only assumes a countable model, so one must also cover externally ill-founded models. In that case use the quotient of the internally defined forcing names by forced equality modulo , with membership defined by forced membership. The internal forcing identities and the forcing theorem hold in and give a well-defined first-order structure satisfying every standard ZFC axiom. Check names embed the original membership structure, so identify their images with . Its domain is a quotient of a subset of the countable domain of , hence is externally countable. Thus the required extension exists even without assuming transitivity. It is a membership extension, not an elementary extension: the assertion that the parameter is uncountable changes truth value.
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