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A worldly cardinal permits a countable transitive model $M$ of ZFC and a transitive model $N$ of ZFC with $M\in N$, $|N|={\aleph }_1$, and $({\omega }_1{)}^N={\omega }_1$. First collapse a countable elementary substructure of $V_{\kappa }$. Then collapse an ${\aleph }_1$-sized Skolem hull containing every countable ordinal and every member of $M$, as well as $M$ itself. The transitive collapse fixes transitive subsets lemma preserves $M$ and those ordinals.

Use the standard convention that a strongly inaccessible cardinal is uncountable, regular and strong limit. The printed explanatory definition omits uncountability: literally it also admits $\kappa =\omega$, for which no finite cardinal is a worldly cardinal. Thus that omission makes the requested conclusion false under the literal abbreviated definition. The proof below applies to the usual, intended strongly inaccessible cardinal convention $\kappa >\omega$.

First $|V_{\gamma }|<\kappa$ for every $\gamma <\kappa$. At successor stages this follows from the strong limit cardinal property, and at limits from the regular cardinal property. Consequently $V_{\kappa }\models \mathsf{ZFC}$. In particular, for Axiom schema of replacement, a domain $a\in V_{\kappa }$ has size less than $\kappa$, so its functional image has fewer than $\kappa$ elements, so the supremum of the rank of a set over its elements is below $\kappa$ by regular cardinal structure. All other axioms, including axiom of choice, have their witnesses at bounded ranks below $\kappa$; uncountability supplies axiom of infinity.

Enumerate the first-order formulas as ${\phi }_0,{\phi }_1,\dots$. For each finite collection, reflection inside the set structure $V_{\kappa }$ gives a closed unbounded subset of $\kappa$ of agreeing ranks. To see why the witness bounds stay below $\kappa$, there are fewer than $\kappa$ parameter tuples at each $V_{\gamma }$, and the supremum of their least witness ranks remains below $\kappa$ by regular cardinal structure. Closing under these bounds and taking increasing countable limits gives the usual reflection theorem for definable hierarchies argument. The countable intersection of these closed unbounded subsets is still closed unbounded because $\kappa$ is regular and uncountable. At each resulting $\alpha$,The infinite cardinal numbers below $\kappa$ also form a closed unbounded subset: they are unbounded because ${\lambda }^{+}\le 2^{\lambda }<\kappa$ for infinite $\lambda <\kappa$, and a supremum of increasing cardinal numbers is a cardinal number. Intersect the two closed unbounded subsets. Every member of the intersection is a worldly cardinal, and an unbounded subset of a regular cardinal $\kappa$ has size $\kappa$. HenceIn fact this proves the stronger worldly cardinals below an inaccessible cardinal result that these worldly cardinals contain a closed unbounded subset of $\kappa$.

A cardinal number is identified with an initial ordinal, namely an ordinal not in bijection with any smaller ordinal. An inaccessible cardinal, in the strong sense used here, is an uncountable regular cardinal that is also a strong limit cardinal. ThusA worldly cardinal is a cardinal number whose level of the Von Neumann hierarchy satisfies all of ZFC:Worldliness is this model-theoretic condition; regularity is not part of its definition. The original PDF asks for these two notions; the extra comma in the local TeX makes “cardinal” look like a separate requested item.

We construct the two transitive models together, taking care that the later collapse really retains the earlier model. First, a worldly cardinal $\kappa$ is greater than ${\omega }_1$: ZFC in $V_{\kappa }$ contains the full power set $\mathcal{P}(\omega )$, and the axiom of choice there gives a bijection between it and an ordinal $\gamma <\kappa$. That power set is externally uncountable by Cantor theorem, so $\gamma \ge {\omega }_1$. Infinity rules out the finite cardinals and $\omega$ before this argument is applied.

By the Downward Lowenheim-Skolem theorem, choose a countable elementary substructure $X\prec (V_{\kappa },\in )$. Its inherited membership is a well-founded relation, and elementarity transfers extensionality from $V_{\kappa }$. Apply the Mostowski collapse theorem to obtain a countable transitive model $M$ of ZFC. Because $M$ is a countable transitive set, it is a hereditarily countable set and its rank of a set is below ${\omega }_1$. In particular, $M\in V_{\kappa }$.

Now take the Skolem hull in $V_{\kappa }$ of the seedCall it $H$. The seed has external cardinality ${\aleph }_1$ and lies inside $V_{\kappa }$. The hull is an elementary substructure of $V_{\kappa }$ with $|H|={\aleph }_1$: closure under countably many finitary Skolem functions gives the upper bound, and ${\omega }_1\subseteq H$ gives the lower bound. Let $\pi :H\to N$ be its Mostowski collapse theorem map. Then $N$ is a transitive model of ZFC.

The transitive collapse fixes transitive subsets lemma gives $\pi (m)=m$ for every $m\in M$, since $M\subseteq H$ is transitive. Since also $M\in H$, the collapse sends that element to $M$ itself. Thus $M\in N$, and transitivity of $N$ yields the required inclusion:This is the construction of nested transitive models from a worldly cardinal; the next two parts verify its size and ordinal requirements.

WriteIf $\kappa$ is a worldly cardinal, then $V_{\kappa }\models \mathrm{ZFC}$. The existence of this set model proves $\mathrm{Con}(\mathrm{ZFC})$ in the universe. By arithmetic absoluteness for a rank-initial model, the same formal consistency statement holds in $V_{\kappa }$. Hence $V_{\kappa }\models T^{\ast }$, so $T$ proves $\mathrm{Con}(T^{\ast })$.

Conversely, suppose $T^{\ast }$ proved $\mathrm{Con}(T)$. The theory $T$ proves every axiom of $T^{\ast }$, since a worldly cardinal proves $\mathrm{Con}(\mathrm{ZFC})$. It would therefore also prove $\mathrm{Con}(T)$, contrary to the Gödel second incompleteness theorem when $T$ is consistent. Thus $T^{\ast }$ cannot prove $\mathrm{Con}(T)$, andThis is the consistency strength of a worldly cardinal comparison.

Below any uncountable strongly inaccessible cardinal $\kappa$, the worldly cardinals contain a closed unbounded subset of $\kappa$ and hence have cardinality $\kappa$. The structure $V_{\kappa }$ models ZFC. Reflect each finite group from an enumeration of all first-order formulas to a closed unbounded subset of $\kappa$, using $|V_{\alpha }|<\kappa$ and regularity for the witness bounds. The countable intersection remains closed unbounded, so its ranks are elementary substructures of $V_{\kappa }$. Intersect with the closed unbounded subset of infinite cardinal numbers below $\kappa$. Uncountability is essential: the regular strong limit $\omega$ has no worldly cardinal below it.