Misha Gavrilovich

Motivation (joint with K.Pimenov )

Playing with the lifting property, we observed that the lifting property and other categorical constructions from algebraic topology has the power to express concisely and uniformly textbook definitions across disparate domains, including topology, analysis, group theory, model theory, in terms of simple(st?) or archetypal (counter)examples, and that an apparently straightforward attempt to read line by line the text of these definitions and rephrase it in categorical language leads to this observation.

We were startled that this never appeared in print, and our presentations attempt to write up some of it.

How these examples can be used in teaching, is discussed in my slides.

Slightly more complicated examples in topology---compact, contractible, and trivial fibration---are discussed in the slides by K.Pimenov.

Analysis of NTP1 and other properties

The poster by M.Gavrilovich reads line by line the definition of NTP (no tree property) and recovers its reformulation as a lifting property in the category of generalised topological spaces. Let us here sketch how the same analysis applies to the other dividing lines. We do this for NTP1.

Definition of NTP1

A formula φ(x,y) has the tree property 1 (TP1) if there are (aη;:η ∈ ω) such that

  • a) for each incomparable η,μ ∈ ω, {φ(x,aμ), φ(x,aη)} is inconsistent.

  • b) for each σ&in; ωω branch {φ(x,aσ|n):n <ω} is consistent.

A theory is NTP1 if no formula has TP1.


Note that the only difference from the definition of NTP is in item a). Therefore, the only the only difference from the reformulaton of the definition of NTP is in the definition of filters on |T|.

As in the case of NTP, we want the map |T|→ M in sዋ to be continuous iff there is a witness of failure of the negative requirement. In case of NTP1, it means that we define the filter on |T| by:

a subset of |T|(n<) is big iff it contains a pair of incomparable vertices from each subtree of T isomorphic to ω.

The case of NTPi,NATP, NSOP1 is similar: their definitions also only differ in item a). We also note that in the category sዋ of generalised topological spaces NFCP (no finite cover property) means that M is of infinite dimension.

Definition of NOP, NSOPi(i>2)

The analysis of No-Order-Properties is similar but different mathematical structures arise. Instead of an infinitely branching tree T&lt we consider the tree consisting of a single branch, i.e. a sequence. The order properties care about sequences indiscernible with respect to binary formulas, hence we modify the filters on |M| to reflect that: the filter on |M|(n<)=Mn is generated by indiscernible sequences with repeated elements, i.e. sequences such that any subsequence of distinct elements is indiscernible. Finally, a little care is needed to reformulate the standard definitions of no-order-properties so that witnesses of failure are defined in terms of indiscernible sequences.



Author webpage: mishap.sdf.org


An informal exposition ``reading off'' the definition of the lifting property:

mishap.sdf.org/yet_another_not_an_obfuscated_story.pdf}


Lifting property: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifting_property https://ncatlab.com/show/lift


Elena Volk, Konstantin Pimenov, M.Gavrilovich. Russian trace in family history and work of Alexandre Grothendieck.

Journal of Mathematical Sciences 252(2), 2021.

http://sashapetya.sdf.org/Shapiro_rus_bio_eng.pdf


A category of generalised topological spaces: http://ncatlab.org/show/situs


M.Gavrilovich, K.Pimenov. A suggestion towards a finitist's realisation of the intuition of topology.

http://mishap.sdf.org/vita.pdf