Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2016 / ia / Paper 4 / 5E (Numbers and Sets)

Suppose $f:S\to \mathcal{P}(S)$ were a surjective function. Form the subsetSince $D$ belongs to the power set, surjectivity would give $D=f(d)$ for some $d\in S$. But then $d\in D$ holds if and only if $d\notin f(d)=D$, a contradiction. Thus no such function is surjective, and in particular there is no bijection from $S$ to its power set. This is Cantor theorem; the argument also applies when $S$ is empty.

For infinite binary sequences, use the bijectionwith $\mathcal{P}(\mathbb{N})$, taking $\mathbb{N}=\{1,2,\dots \}$. Conversely, a subset determines its sequence of membership indicators. The power set is infinite, since it contains all singletons, and Cantor theorem rules out a bijection with $\mathbb{N}$. Hence it is an uncountable set, as is the set of infinite binary sequences. Equivalently, a proposed enumeration $(x_n^{(j)}{)}_{n\ge 1}$ is defeated by the sequence $y_j=1-x_j^{(j)}$, which differs from its $j$th listed sequence at position $j$. This is the Cantor diagonal argument.

Write $A=\{a_1,\dots ,a_m\}$ and enumerate $B=\{b_1,b_2,\dots \}$. Each injective function $f:A\to B$ is determined by the finite tuple $(f(a_1),\dots ,f(a_m))$. Thus these functions form a subset of the finite Cartesian product $B^m$. A finite Cartesian power of a countable set is countable: for example, group the index tuples by the maximum of their coordinates, obtaining a countable union of countable sets consisting of finite groups.

There are also infinitely many such injective functions, sincedefines pairwise distinct examples. Therefore $S_1$ is a countably infinite set.

Again let $A=\{a_1,\dots ,a_m\}$ with $m>1$, and enumerate $B=\{b_1,b_2,\dots \}$. For each infinite binary sequence $x=(x_j{)}_{j\ge 1}$, define a function $g_x$ byThe first $m$ values make every $g_x$ a surjective function, while the remaining values recover $x$ uniquely. Hence $x\mapsto g_x$ is an injective function from the uncountable set of binary sequences into $S_2$. This proves $S_2$ is an uncountable set, an instance of uncountability of surjections onto a nontrivial finite set.

Partition the enumeration of $B$ into the pairs $\{b_{2j-1},b_{2j}\}$, for $j\ge 1$. An infinite binary sequence $x$ determines a bijection $h_x:B\to B$: leave the $j$th pair fixed when $x_j=0$, and interchange its two elements when $x_j=1$. Each element stays in its own pair, so this function is a bijection, indeed its own inverse.

Different binary sequences give different bijections, since a changed bit changes the action on the corresponding pair. We have therefore embedded an uncountable set into $S_3$. Hence $S_3$ is uncountable, proving uncountability of permutations of a countably infinite set.