Let X be a set, κ be a cardinal number and let ℋ be a family of subsets of X which covers each x ∈ X at least κ-fold. What assumptions can ensure that ℋ can be decomposed into κ many disjoint subcovers? We examine this problem under various assumptions on the set X and on the cover ℋ: among other situations, we consider covers of topological spaces by closed sets, interval covers of linearly ordered sets and covers of ℝⁿ by polyhedra and by arbitrary convex sets. We focus on...

We prove a number of results on star covering properties which may be regarded as either generalizations or specializations of topological properties related to the ones mentioned in the title of the paper. For instance, we give a new, entirely combinatorial proof of the fact that $\Psi$-spaces constructed from infinite almost disjoint families are not star-compact. By going a little further we conclude that if $X$ is a star-compact space within a certain class, then $X$ is neither first countable nor separable....

We study the generalized Cantor space ${}^{\kappa }2$ and the generalized Baire space ${}^{\kappa }\kappa$ as analogues of the classical Cantor and Baire spaces. We equip ${}^{\kappa }\kappa$ with the topology where a basic neighborhood of a point η is the set ν: (∀j < i)(ν(j) = η(j)), where i < κ. We define the concept of a strong measure zero set of ${}^{\kappa }2$. We prove for successor $\kappa ={\kappa }^{<\kappa }$ that the ideal of strong measure zero sets of ${}^{\kappa }2$ is ${}_{\kappa }$-additive, where ${}_{\kappa }$ is the size of the smallest unbounded family in ${}^{\kappa }\kappa$, and that the generalized Borel conjecture...

The author has recently shown (2014) that separable, selectively (a)-spaces cannot include closed discrete subsets of size . It follows that, assuming CH, separable selectively (a)-spaces necessarily have countable extent. However, in the same paper it is shown that the weaker hypothesis "$2^{\aleph ₀}<2^{\aleph ₁}$" is not enough to ensure the countability of all closed discrete subsets of such spaces. In this paper we show that if one adds the hypothesis of local compactness, a specific effective (i.e., Borel) parametrized...

A theorem is proved which could be considered as a bridge between the combinatorics which have a beginning in the dyadic spaces theory and the partition calculus.

The Todorcevic ordering 𝕋(X) consists of all finite families of convergent sequences in a given topological space X. Such an ordering was defined for the special case of the real line by S. Todorcevic (1991) as an example of a Borel ordering satisfying ccc that is not σ-finite cc and even need not have the Knaster property. We are interested in properties of 𝕋(X) where the space X is taken as a parameter. Conditions on X are given which ensure the countable chain condition and its stronger versions...

If there is no inner model with measurable cardinals, then for each cardinal $\lambda$ there is an almost disjoint family ${𝒜}_{\lambda }$ of countable subsets of $\lambda$ such that every subset of $\lambda$ with order type $\ge {\omega }^2$ contains an element of ${𝒜}_{\lambda }$.

We list some open problems concerning the polarized partition relation. We solve a couple of them, by showing that for every limit non-inaccessible ordinal α there exists a forcing notion ℙ such that the strong polarized relation $\left(\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{{\aleph }_{\alpha +1}}{{\aleph }_{\alpha }}\right)\to {\left(\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{{\aleph }_{\alpha +1}}{{\aleph }_{\alpha }}\right)}_2^{1,1}$ holds in $V^{\mathbb{P}}$.

In this paper, motivated by questions in Harmonic Analysis, we study the operation of (countable) increasing union, and show it is not idempotent: ${\omega }_1$ iterations are needed in general to obtain the closure of a class under this operation. Increasing union is a particular Hausdorff operation, and we present the combinatorial tools which allow to study the power of various Hausdorff operations, and of their iterates. Besides countable increasing union, we study in detail a related Hausdorff operation,...

The basic result of this note is a statement about the existence of families of partitions of the set of natural numbers with some useful properties, the n-optimal matrices of partitions. We use this to improve a decomposition result for strongly homogeneous Souslin trees. The latter is in turn applied to separate strong notions of rigidity of Souslin trees, thereby answering a considerable portion of a question of Fuchs and Hamkins.

An earlier paper [Starosolski A., P-hierarchy on βω, J. Symbolic Logic, 2008, 73(4), 1202–1214] investigated the relations between ordinal ultrafilters and the so-called P-hierarchy. The present paper focuses on the aspects of characterization of classes of ultrafilters of finite index, existence, generic existence and the Rudin-Keisler-order.