The new operations on complete ideals

We introduce the notion of K-ideals associated with Kuratowski partitions. Using new operations on complete ideals we show connections between K-ideals and precipitous ideals and prove that every complete ideal can be represented by some K-ideal.

A MODEL WITH A PRECIPITOUS IDEAL, BUT NO NORMAL PRECIPITOUS IDEAL

Starting with a measurable cardinal κ of the Mitchell order κ++ we construct a model with a precipitous ideal on ℵ1 but without normal precipitous ideals. This answers a question by T. Jech and K. Prikry. In the constructed model there are no Q-point precipitous filters on ℵ1, i. e. those isomorphic to extensions of Cubℵ1.

Woodin's axiom (*), bounded forcing axioms, and precipitous ideals on ω1

If the Bounded Proper Forcing Axiom BPFA holds, then Mouse Reflection holds at ℵ2 with respect to all mouse operators up to the level of Woodin cardinals in the next ZFC-model. This yields that if Woodin's ℙmax axiom (*) holds, then BPFA implies that V is closed under the “Woodin-in-the-next-ZFC-model” operator. We also discuss stronger Mouse Reflection principles which we show to follow from strengthenings of BPFA, and we discuss the theory BPFA plus “NSω1 is precipitous” and strengthenings thereof. Along the way, we answer a question of Baumgartner and Taylor, [2, Question 6.11].

Forbidden intervals

Many classical statements of set theory are settled by the existence of generic elementary embeddings that are analogous the elementary embeddings posited by large cardinals. [2] The embeddings analogous to measurable cardinals are determined by uniform, κ-complete precipitous ideals on cardinals κ. Stronger embeddings, analogous to those originating from supercompact or huge cardinals are encoded by normal fine ideals on sets such as [κ]<λ or [κ]λ.The embeddings generated from these ideals are limited in ways analogous to conventional large cardinals. Explicitly, if j: V → M is a generic elementary embedding with critical point κ and λ supnЄωjn(κ) and the forcing yielding j is λ-saturated then j“λ+ ∉ M. (See [2].)Ideals that yield embeddings that are analogous to strongly compact cardinals have more puzzling behavior and the analogy is not as straightforward. Some natural ideal properties of this kind have been shown to be inconsistent:Theorem 1 (Kunen). There is no ω2-saturated, countably complete uniform ideal on any cardinal in the interval [ℵω, ℵω).Generic embeddings that arise from countably complete, ω2-saturated ideals have the property that sup . So the Kunen result is striking in that it apparently allows strong ideals to exist above the conventional large cardinal limitations. The main result of this paper is that it is consistent (relative to a huge cardinal) that such ideals exist.

Some pathological examples of precipitous ideals

We construct a model with an indecisive precipitous ideal and a model with a precipitous ideal with a non precipitous normal ideal below it. Such kind of examples were previously given by M. Foreman [2] and R. Laver [4] respectively. The present examples differ in two ways: first- they use only a measurable cardinal and second- the ideals are over a cardinal. Also a precipitous ideal without a normal ideal below it is constructed. It is shown in addition that if there is a precipitous ideal over a cardinal κ such that• after the forcing with its positive sets the cardinality of κ remains above ℵ1• there is no a normal precipitous ideal then there is 0†.

On generic elementary embeddings

Suppose that I is a precipitous ideal over a cardinal κ and j is a generic embedding of I. What is the nature of j? If we assume the existence of a supercompact cardinal then, by Foreman, Magidor and Shelah [FMS], it is quite unclear where some of such j's are coming from. On the other hand, if ¬∃κ0(κ) = κ++, then, by Mitchell [Mi], the restriction of j to the core model is its iterated ultrapower by measures of it. A natural question arising here is if each iterated ultrapower of can be obtained as the restriction of a generic embedding of a precipitous ideal. Notice that there are obvious limitations. Thus the ultrapower of by a measure over λ cannot be obtained as a generic embedding by a precipitous ideal over κ ≠ λ. But if we fix κ and use iterated ultrapowers of which are based on κ, then the answer is positive. Namely a stronger statement is true:Theorem. Let τ be an ordinal and κ a measurable cardinal. There exists a generic extension V* of V so that NSℵ1 (the nonstationary ideal on ℵ1) is precipitous and, for every iterated ultrapower i of V of length ≤ τ by measures of V based on κ, there exists a stationary set forcing “the generic ultrapower restricted to V is i”.Our aim will be to prove this theorem. We assume that the reader is familiar with the paper [JMMiP] by Jech, Magidor, Mitchell and Prikry. We shall use the method of that paper for constructing precipitous ideals. Ideas of Levinski [L] for blowing up 2ℵ1 preserving precipitousness and of our own earlier paper [Gi] for linking together indiscernibles will be used also.