PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY

Volume 51, Number 1, August 1975

AXIOMOF CHOICE AND COMPLEMENTATION

RADU DIACONESCU
ABSTRACT. It is shown that an intuitionistic model the axiom of choice has to be a classical one. of set theory

with

A topos
intersections

fe is a category
and a terminal

which has finite

object,

limits

(i.e.

finite
a unique

products,
I->Q

1), a universal

monomorphism

(i.e.
istic

for any monomorphism

function" such that

of fe A'->A
the diagram

there

exists

"character-

A'.

is a pull-back),
ized by the fact

and for each

that

object

its

power

set

Q,

(this

is characterof

the morphisms

X > 2

are precisely

the subobjects

X x A, in particular The most common

of functors

its global examples

sections

1 > Q

are the subobjects of sets,

of A).

of topos

are the category

, categories
of sheaves on

>(Cop) for any small

category

C, and categories

topological

spaces.

Details

about

these

can be found in [l] or [2],

One of

the main consequences

a Heyting plements". Roughly algebra object.

of the axioms
(A Heyting

is that
algebra

(the "truth
is a lattice space

table"
with

object)

is

"pseudocomexample.)

The open speaking

set lattice could

of a topological be thought

is a typical

a topos

of as a model

for intuitionistic

set theory

(subobjects

do not have honest

complements).

In this
AC:

setting
Every

the axiom of choice

reads:

epimorphism Any coequalizer

has a section. of two nonintersecting monomorphisms has a

Theorem.

section

iff in fe subobjects

have complements.

Proof.

Let

A'>->A

be a monomorphism

in fe and construct

the fol-

Received by the editors May 20, 1974. AMS (MOS) subject classifications (1970). Primary 02K20; Secondary

18A15,

18B05.
Copyright 1975, American Mathematical Society
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176

AXIOM OF CHOICE AND COMPLEMENTATION

lowing coequalizer diagram:

177

A',

m'i

, .

A + A

(1)
in which by hypothesis diagram:

Aj

. \A + A 77lt2

.
can also be obtained from

p has a splitting.

A +A

the push-out

(2)

From the general

phisms

theory

of topos

it follows
(hence

that

and

/,

are monomor-

and that (2) is a pull-back

an intersection).

Let

>->A

+ A be a section

of p. The mere existence

of such

morphism s~

(see

[l] or [2]) forces

A +A to be the form D + E where A'

s /', and s ;' produce

D =

(A + 0), E = s~

(0 + A). Similarly

two decom-

positions

of A, namely

A = Bl + Cl and A = B2 + C2, hence

A = B1nB2
Thus the diagram

+ Blnc2

+ c1n

b2 + cl n c2.

(2) becomes

A>-

^!

+ Cl

(3)

fc1+/,

B2+Cr
therefore A' = S, n B7 + C. n C

->D + F
7 "*" 2

and obviously

has a complement

~\A

Bxn

C2 + Cxn
Conversely,

B2.
if
74'r

*A
Ittz and A = n + In, hence

ate such that

772O 72= 0 then

A = 772 +

A = 772 An + Am C\ n + ~\m D ~\n = m + n + ~\m t~\ An n

i.e. A = A + A + B for some object B. But then the coequalizer of 772and

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178

RADU DIACONESCU

A't==tA'
which is obviously split by

+ A" + B^^-^A'

+B

A' + B-!-*A'
Corollary. Corollary.
intersecting

i,+B

+ A' + B.
subobject has a complement. of nonand T

AC implies If in Sh(T)
monomorphisms)

that

every

epimorphisms
split then

(or even only coequalizers

every open set in T is clopen

is the disjoint The present

union

of sets

with the indiscrete

topology. of several discussions

version

of the proof is the result

with M. Barr in which be reduced

he pointed

out that the amount of topos

language

can

to a minimum.

REFERENCES
1. F. W. Lawvere (editor), Toposes, Algebraic Geometry and Logic, Lecture

Notes in Math., vol. 274, Springer-Verlag,

2. M. Tierney, Axiomatic in Categories and Commutative

Berlin

and New York, 1972.

sheaf theory, Some Constructions and Applications Algebra (P. Salmon, editor), Edizioni Cremonese,

Roma, 1973.
DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS, McGILL UNIVERSITY, MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA

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