Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ii Paper 4 16H d Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Part (b) proves one implication. Conversely, assume in ZF thatfor every infinite cardinal . Let be any set and let be its Hartogs ordinal. Finite is already well-orderable, so suppose is infinite and form the disjoint unionBy hypothesis, is bijective with . Since injects into , we obtain
Apply part (c), with and . It gives either an injection or a surjection . The first alternative contradicts Hartogs theorem. In the second, every fiber is a nonempty set of ordinals and therefore has a least member. The mapis an injection of into the ordinal and pulls its well-order back to . Thus every set is well-orderable, so the well-ordering theorem gives the axiom of choice. This proves the Tarski cardinal-square theorem.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2026 ii Paper 1 16J d Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Choice well-orders every infinite , so Hessenberg gives . Conversely assume this square identity for every infinite set. For arbitrary , form the disjoint union . A pairing , together with the well-order on , yields by the standard tracing/comparison argument an injection either or . The first is forbidden by Hartogs theorem, so the second well-orders . This is Tarski cardinal-square theorem, and hence choice follows.