Abstract.We consider the families of all subspaces of size ω 1 of 2 ω 1 (or of a compact zero-dimensional space X of weight ω 1 in general) which are normal, have the Lindelöf property or are closed under limits of convergent ω 1 -sequences. Various relations among these families modulo the club filter in [X] ω 1 are shown to be consistently possible. One of the main tools is dealing with a subspace of the form X ∩M for an elementary submodel M of size ω 1 . Various results with this flavor are obtained. Another tool used is forcing and in this case various preservation or nonpreservation results of topological and combinatorial properties are proved. In particular we prove that there may be no c.c.c. forcing which destroys the Lindelöf property of compact spaces, answering a question of Juhász. Many related questions are formulated.
Introduction.The results of this paper are related to several closely located topics. First, one can draw a connection with the general topic of reflection. A classical theorem in logic, called the lower Löwenheim-Skolem theorem, states that for any infinite mathematical structure and any infinite cardinal κ, smaller than the cardinality of the structure, there is a substructure of cardinality κ which satisfies the same first order formulas as the entire structure. For instance, every uncountable field has a subfield of cardinality ω 1 with the same first order properties as the entire field. Most topological and many other properties cannot be expressed by first order formulas, which makes the problem of reflection of these properties to smaller substructures more subtle. What we consider a small or a large substructure is a fundamental factor determining the flavor of the methods of research and the results. For example, here we consider small or large in the sense of infinite cardinality, and thus set-theoretic methods are central. Many deep results with this flavor have been obtained. Probably the most famous one is Shelah's compactness theorem for certain algebraic structures of singular