Introduction Math 361, Notes

Introduction

Text: Enderton, Elements of Set Theory, or these notes. The treatment in the text is much fuller. We give the essentials here. Note: Theexercises in these notes are suggestions for the reader, but are not assignments. The questions are issues that will need to be addressed. In many cases the answer is obvious but important; in other cases the answer comes in a much later section.

1.1

Why Set Theory?

In this course we will study set theory from two points of view: Set Theory as a foundation for all of mathematics Set Theory as a subject in its own right

1.1.1

Set Theory as Foundation

At the end of the 19th century, mathematicians became concerned that they could not properly account for some basic mathematical notions. For example: What exactly do we mean by a function f : R2 R2 ? Is there a single notion of function that covers all possible types of function? We understand the set N of natural numbers intuitively (even though it is an innite set), and if one understands N it is technically straightforward t o explain the signed integers Z and the rational numbers Q. But to explain with any precision what is meant by a real number is a challenge. And if one wants to use the theory of limits to justify the theorems of calculus, at some point one is going to refer to the fundamental properties of real numbers (this is discussed in our Analysis course, Math 311). Our condence in the foundations of mathematics was shaken around 1900 by the discovery of certain contradictions (paradoxes, antinomies) which arise if one is casual about the foundations of the subject. 1.1.2 First Paradoxes

There are some geometrical paradoxes which come from a close analysis of the notions of calculus: length, area, volume, curve. Von Koch constructed a bounded region whose boundary, the snowake curve, has innite length. Similarly Gabriels Horn is a region of nite volume whose boundary has innite area: you can ll it with a nite amount of paint, but you cant paint it! Gabriels Horn is given as an example of improper integration in our Calc II course: if you rotate the hyperbola y = 1/x (for x 1) about the x-axis, the resulting surface of revolution has nite volume and innite surface ares. Notes by Simon Thomas, Saul Schleimer, and Gregory Cherlin (9/2012)

Introduction

Exercise 1.1. Write down the improper integrals that represent the volume and surface area of Gabriels Horn, and verify out claims. Von Kochs snowake curve is more complicated. Start with an equilateral triangle and its interior. Divide each of the three boundary lines into three equal parts, and on the middle part place smaller equilateral triangles. Repeat this process: the rst four steps look like this (illustration from Wikipedia):

The area is clearly nite (and you can compute it exactly). The boundary curve gets arbitrarily longand very irregular. If you parametrize the boundary at the limit, you get a continuous function with no derivative at any point. The Banach-Tarski paradox says that you can take a ball of radius 1, divide it into a nite number of pieces, and reassemble the pieces (like a jigsaw puzzle) to make two balls of radius 1. See the Resources section of the course page on Sakai for references to various paradoxes of a similar avor, including the ancient paradoxes of Zeno (which have something in common with the modern ones), and the famous Peano curve. 1.1.3 Russells Paradox

The paradoxes of the previous section are unsettling but they are not true paradoxes: they are very surprising, and they may contradict our expectations, but they are correct. The next one gives more trouble. Lord Bertrand Russellphilosopher, mathematician, and (jailed) pacistconsidered the following set: R = {x|x x} / Question 1. What does the assertion R R actually mean? If you answered this question, then you have found that R R means R R. This is a true / paradox. (Why?) Conclusion: The Russell set, like the unicorn, does not exist. Exercise 1.2 (Currys Paradox). Let P be the sentence the Earth is at and let C be the set {x : If x x then P } Explain the meaning of C C and deduce the following:

Introduction

If C C then P ; C C; P (Conclusion: the Curry set C does not exist. But if the Russell set and the Curry set do not exist, then we are going to have to reconsider how we dene sets and how we prove their existence. Thus we must rst give set theory an axiomatic foundation which does not lead to contradictions. This more careful approach should allow us to dene all the sets needed in mathematics, and make it clear why Russells set R is not meaningful. Once we have a satisfactory treatment of set theory we must put the rest of mathematics on an equally sound footing: Number theory (N and Z) Analysis R Probability etc. . . . We can either set up axioms for each of the major branches of mathematics, ormore simplywe can take the reductive approach: show that all of mathematics can be reduced to set theory. The Reductive Approach: We must show that the notions of real number, function, and so on can be dened inside set theory in such a way that these notions have the correct properties. For the reals, this includes: Laws of arithmetic in R; Completeness of the ordering (least upper bound principle) Once we reach this point, we refer you to the Analysis course, where it is shown that calculus can be developed rigorously in terms of the theory of limits, if the reals have these fundamental arithmetical and completeness properties. The Reductive Principle All of mathematics can be rigorously expressed in the language of set theory Application. There is intensive research on computer-generated proofs in mathematics. This requires the computer to have some uniform framework for analyzing a class of mathematical statements. Systems which aim to cover the full range of mathematics depend on a reduction of this type.

Introduction

1.1.4

Set Theory in its own Right

Set Theory is a beautiful subject in its own right. In Set Theory we study the sizes of innite sets in two ways: Comparison of size (cardinality); Counting: (ordinals). When sets are nite, comparison is done by counting if the sets are small, or if the sizes can be calculated. But even with nite sets there are times when we know that two sets are the same size, without knowing how large either is (see the Supplementary Notes on the partition function for a famous example due to Euler: the number of ways to express an integer as a sum of odd integers is the same as the number of ways to express that integer as a sum of distinct integers). The outstanding problem in the theory of size is the following: what is the size of the set R? (Cantors Continuum Problem) The study of counting leads to the study of well ordering and the axiom of choice and eventually to a picture of the universe of all sets called the Cumulative Hierarchy. One of the goals of the course is to lay out this picture of the universe of all sets, explicitly. Other advanced topics in set theory include: Independence results (forcing) Descriptive Set Theory Set Theory is a very active branch of mathematics (which means, in particular, that there are still a lot of questions we havent been able to answer yet). At Rutgers we have three researchers in this area: Professors Grigor Sargsyan, Saharon Shelah, and Simon Thomas, To sum up: the rst part of this course will show how Axiomatic Set Theory can be used as a foundation for mathematics (construction of the system of real numbers R). The second part of the course will study the sizes of innite sets (cardinals) and explain how one counts an innite set (ordinals). And we will apply this theory to explain how the Universe of Sets is constructed (the Cumulative Hierarchy). In 2 we will go back to the beginning and set up Axiomatic Set Theory from scratch (starting at about the same point as our course in Mathematical Reasoning, Math 300). But rstwe want to point out some general notions which are important in the set theory generally, and that you may not be familiar with.

1.2

Families of Sets
Sets can be elements of other sets

We are accustomed to writing aA and thinking that a is probably a number, or perhaps a vector or a matrix, while A is some set. We would be very surprised to see someone write Aa

Introduction

In set theory: we make no distinction between sets and elements. Everything is a set. Everything can be an element of another set. We still write things like a Ajust to remind ourselves that temporarily, the set a is being considered as an element of another set. Sometimes we call a set a family of sets when we want to emphasize that we are interested in the elements of its elements! Question 2. If a A A, is a A? 1.2.1 Partitions

The real line R may be partitioned into its positive, negative, and zero parts: (0, ), (, 0), {0}. This gives us the following partition of the real line: P = {(0, ), (, 0), {0}} The partition P has three elements: two of its elements are innite and one of them is nite. Every element of R is an element of one and only one element of P. A partition P of a set A is a family of nonempty subsets of A with the the property that each element of A belongs to exactly one element of P. We can break this down to two conditions: For a, b P we have a b = ; P=A

The union sign here means: take the union of all the sets in the family P. This is an important operation in set theory, and one of the fundamental axioms will guarantee that one can take the union of any family. Example 1. One way to partition a set is to put each of its elements in a separate piece. For example, the set {1, 2, 3} could be partitioned as {{1}, {2}, {3}} Exercise 1.3. Find all of the partitions of the set {1, 2, 3}. Similarly, one could partition the set {R, N, Q} as {{R}, {N}, {Q}} And indeed, for each partition of {1, 2, 3}, one could make a corresponding partition of {R, N, Q} of the same shape. 1.2.2 The Union of a Family

Example 2. 1. If In denotes the interior of the n-th stage in the construction of von Kochs snowake curve, we have I1 I2 I3 . Let I = {In |n = 1, 2, 3, . . . }. Then I is I1 I2 I3 , which can also be written In
n=1

This is called an increasing union since the sets involved increase as you go along.

Introduction

2. Let S be a square (interior together with boundary) and let D be the set of all open disks that lie inside S. Then D is the interior of the square. Indeed, any point not on the boundary lies at positive distance from the boundary, and hence inside some open disk in D. Exercise 1.4. Let A = {[a, b]|0 < a < b < }, and determine Exercise 1.5. Let A = {pZ|p > 1 prime}. Determine A. A (Enderton, #3, p. 26) A.

Exercise 1.6. Show that every member of a set A is a subset of Exercise 1.7. Show that if A B then A

B (Enderton, #4, p. 26) A? This should have the form

Question 3. What is the explicit denition of

{x : P (x)} where P (x) is an explicit denition of what we mean when we say x A

Since the union of the family A consists of all elements of elements of A, the answer is: {x : a A (x a)} We may also dene the intersection of the family A, written Exercise 1.8. Let A = {pZ|p > 1 prime}. Determine A. A.

In the next section we will study the axioms for basic set theory.

Introduction

Exercises Mentioned (These are not assignmentsconsult your instructor for assigned problems.) Exercise (1.1). Gabriels horn is the surface of revolution formed by rotating the graph of y = 1/x (x 1) around the x-axis. Show that the volume of the horn is nite and its surface area is innite. First show that the volume and surface area are given by the following improper integrals:

1 x

dx 1 x
2

2
1

1 x

1+

dx

and then show that the rst one is nite and the second one is not. (The second one is too dicult to calculate, so use a comparison test to show it diverges.) Exercise (1.2). (Currys Paradox) P be the statement The earth is at. Let S be the set {x|x x = P } (a) Prove that S S = P . (b) Prove that S S (c) Prove P ! Example 3. {(1/n, 1/n) : n N, n 1} = {0} Exercise (1.3). (a) How many partitions does the set {1, 2, 3} have? Write them down. (b) How many partitions does the set {Q, R, N} have? Exercise (1.4). Let A = {[a, b]|0 < a < b < }. Show that Exercise (1.5). Let A = {pZ|p > 1 prime}. Determine A. A (Enderton, #3, p. 26) A = (0, ).

Exercise (1.6). Show that every member of a set A is a subset of Exercise (1.7). Show that if A B then A

B (Enderton, #4, p. 26) A.

Exercise (1.8). Let A = {pZ|p > 1 prime}. Determine