Filtration form of Fodor lemma 2026-10-06
If is stationary and for a kappa-filtration, then is constant on a stationary subset. Restrict to limit indices and use continuity to find a smaller stage containing each value. Fodor lemma fixes that stage on a stationary subset. Its size is less than , so club filter completeness makes one value fiber stationary.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 19 4 iv Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
A kappa-filtration is an increasing continuous sequence with union and at every stage. Intersect with the club set of nonzero limit ordinals. For each remaining , continuity gives , so choose with . This is a regressive function. Fodor lemma gives a stationary subset and a fixed such that all these values lie in .
Since , partition into fewer than fibers of . If every fiber were nonstationary, choose a club set avoiding each one. Their intersection is club set by regularity, contradicting stationarity of . Thus one fiber is stationary, andThis proves the filtration form of Fodor lemma; continuity at limit stages, the small size of each stage, and regularity of are all used.