Related papers: Maximal almost disjoint families, determinacy, and…
We show that if all collections of infinite subsets of $\N$ have the Ramsey property, then there are no infinite maximal almost disjoint (mad) families. This solves a long-standing problem going back to Mathias \cite{mathias}. The proof…
We show that under the Bounded Proper Forcing Axiom and an anti-large cardinal assumption, there is a $\mathbf{\Pi}^1_2$ MAD family.
We prove that under a principle of Ramsey regularity there are no infinite maximal almost disjoint families with respect to the transfinitely iterated Fr\'echet ideals. The results of the present paper were announced by the authors in the…
We consider the definability of mad families in vector spaces of the form $\underset{n<\omega}{\bigoplus} F$ where $F$ is a field of cardinality $\leq \aleph_0$. We show that there is no analytic mad family of subspaces when…
We show that there are no infinite maximal almost disjoint ("mad") families in Solovay's model, thus solving a long-standing problem posed by A.D.R. Mathias in 1967. We also give a new proof of Mathias' theorem that no analytic infinite…
We study some strong combinatorial properties of $\textsf{MAD}$ families. An ideal $\mathcal{I}$ is Shelah-Stepr\={a}ns if for every set $X\subseteq{\left[ \omega\right]}^{<\omega}$ there is an element of $\mathcal{I}$ that either…
We study two different types of (maximal) almost disjoint families: very mad families and (maximal) cofinitary groups. For the very mad families we prove the basic existence results. We prove that MA implies there exist many pairwise…
We study $\mathcal I$-maximal eventually different families of functions from the set of natural numbers into itself where $\mathcal I$ is an arbitrary ideal on the set of natural numbers that includes the ideal of all finite sets…
We develop a new forcing notion for adjoining self-coding cofinitary permutations and use it to show that consistently, the minimal cardinality $\mathfrak a_{\text{g}}$ of a maximal cofinitary group (MCG) is strictly between $\aleph_1$ and…
Given a family $F$ of pairwise almost disjoint sets on a countable set $S$, we study maximal almost disjoint (mad) families $F^+$ extending $F$. We define $a^+(F)$ to be the minimal possible cardinality of $F^+\setminus F$ for such $F^+$,…
We survey results regarding the definability and size of maximal discrete sets in analytic hypergraphs. Our main examples include maximal almost disjoint (or mad) families, $\mathcal I$-mad families, maximal eventually different families,…
A MAD (maximal almost disjoint) family is an infinite subset A of the infinite subsets of {0,1,2,..} such that any two elements of A intersect in a finite set and every infinite subset of {0.1.2...} meets some element of $\aa$ in an…
We show that under $\mathsf{ZF} + \mathsf{CC}_{\mathbb R}$, if the Ramsey property holds for all sets in a good pointclass $\Gamma$, then there is no MAD family in $\Gamma$, proving a long-standing conjecture made by A.R.D.\ Mathias in…
A family $\mathcal{A} \subseteq [\omega]^\omega$ such that for all finite $\{X_i\}_{i\in n}\subseteq \mathcal A$ and $A \in \mathcal{A} \setminus \{X_i\}_{i\in n}$, the set $A \setminus \bigcup_{i \in n} X_i$ is infinite, is said to be…
We throw some light on the question: is there a MAD family (= a family of infinite subsets of N, the intersection of any two is finite) which is completely separable (i.e. any X subseteq N is included in a finite union of members of the…
We study maximal orthogonal families of Borel probability measures on $2^\omega$ (abbreviated m.o. families) and show that there are generic extensions of the constructible universe $L$ in which each of the following holds: (1) There is a…
We prove in ZFC that there is a MAD family of functions in omega^omega which is also maximal with respect to infinite partial functions. This solves a 20 year old question of Van Douwen. We also strengthen a result of J. Steprans stating…
We provide a proof that analytic almost disjoint families of infinite sets of integers cannot be maximal using a result of Bourgain about compact sets of Baire class one functions. Inspired by this and related ideas, we then provide a new…
We investigate families of subsets of $\omega$ with almost disjoint refinements in the classical case as well as with respect to given ideals on $\omega$. More precisely, we study the following topics and questions: 1) Examples of…
A family $\mathscr{I} \subseteq [\omega]^\omega$ such that for all finite $\{X_i\}_{i\in n}\subseteq \mathcal I$ and $A \in \mathscr{I} \setminus \{X_i\}_{i\in n}$, the set $A \setminus \bigcup_{i < n} X_i$ is infinite, is said to be ideal…