D. Downward absoluteness of cardinalhood holds because, if the larger transitive model sees no bijection with a smaller ordinal, neither can the smaller model, whose functions form only a subset of those in the larger model. Cardinalhood is not described by an upward absolute formula, because the larger model can contain a new bijection collapsing an ordinal that the smaller model regards as a cardinal number.
U+D. The natural numbers are absolute between transitive models of ZFC, and the statement is the bounded assertion . Hence the property of being a subset of is absolute.
Let be the given transitive model and suppose that its ordinal height of a model of set theory were a countable set. For every , the internal Axiom of choice gives a bijection from to an ordinal of ; transitivity makes this an actual bijection, and the ordinal is externally countable. Thus every element of is externally countable.
For each , the internal rank belongs to and is therefore countable. Every lies in one of these ranks, so is a countable union of countable sets and is itself countable, contrary to the hypothesis. By uncountable transitive set model has uncountable ordinal height, contains uncountably many ordinals.
Fix . Inside the ambient transitive model , the Axiom of power set makes the collection of constructible subsets of a set. For each such subset , choose the least stage of the constructible hierarchy at which appears. The Axiom schema of replacement and the supremum of a set of ordinals give an ordinal bounding all these stages; enlarge so that .
Now
is definable over with parameter . It therefore belongs to the definable power set . This set contains exactly the subsets of that belong to the constructible universe, so it witnesses the Axiom of power set in . Therefore Power Set.
Take a transitive model . In , choose a bijection and encode its graph by a set , using a fixed bijection between and . The relative constructible universe can decode , and therefore contains every real number of ; being an inner model of , it has no additional reals.
Models with the same reals have the same first uncountable ordinal, because their reals code exactly the same countable well-orders. If satisfied the Continuum hypothesis, its bijection between and the reals would also belong to , contradicting . This is the construction in relative constructible universe can violate the continuum hypothesis, and it gives
Assume a transitive model satisfies . In , encode a bijection by one set , using a fixed pairing of with . Then decodes and contains every real of . The two models consequently have the same , and any bijection between and the real numbers in would also be one in . Thus .