Parovičenko spaces with structures (Q740742)

If \(\mathfrak C\) denotes the category of compact Hausdorff spaces and continuous surjections, and \(\kappa\) is an infinite cardinal number, then a \(\kappa\)-Parovičenko space is a \(\mathfrak C\)-object that is projective, relative to the class of morphisms between \(\mathfrak C\)-objects of weight < \(\kappa\). (Parovičenko = \(\aleph_1\)-Parovičenko.) After giving a brief overview of the rich history of Parovičenko spaces, the authors explore the existence and characterization of ``\(\kappa\)-Parovičenko objects'' in structured categories of compact Hausdorff spaces; i.e., categories given by a faithful functor \(\Phi\) from some (unspecified) category \(\mathfrak K\) into \(\mathfrak C\). The objects of the category of \(\Phi\)-structured spaces are pairs \(\langle K, a\rangle\), where \(K\) is a \(\mathfrak C\)-object, \(a\) is a \(\mathfrak K\)-object, and \(K = \Phi(a)\); the morphisms between \(\langle K, a\rangle\) and \(\langle L, b\rangle\) are \(\mathfrak C\)-morphisms \(f : K\to L\) which are of the form \(f = \Phi(g)\) for some (unique) \(g : a \to b\). In the general case, with certain reasonable cardinality conditions on \(\Phi\) being satisfied, it is shown that \(\kappa\)-Parovičenko \(\Phi\)-structured spaces exist, with weight \(\leq \kappa^{<\kappa}\). Moreover, if \(\kappa\) is uncountable and regular, then there exists at most one (up to \(\Phi\)-structured space isomorphism) \(\kappa\)-Parovičenko \(\Phi\)-structured space of weight \(\kappa\). As an important special case of structured categories in this sense, the authors investigate what they call ``median spaces''. These have strong connections with abstract convexities, and amount to assigning a normal binary subbase to a compact Hausdorff space (if possible). That is, given supercompact space \(X\), fix a subbase \(\mathcal B\) for the closed subsets of \(X\), such that \(\mathcal B\) satisfies: (supercompactness) for \(\mathcal F \subseteq \mathcal B\), \(\mathcal F\) has nonempty intersection whenever each two-element subfamily of \(\mathcal F\) does; and (normality) each pair of disjoint members of \(\mathcal B\) may be separated by complements of members of \(\mathcal B\). These structured spaces are called median spaces because if we define, for each \(a, b\in X\), the \(\mathcal B\)-interval \([a, b]\) to be the intersection of all members of \(\mathcal B\) containing \(\{a, b\}\), then for each triplet \(\{a, b, c\}\) there is a unique point -- the median -- contained in \([a, b] \cap [a, c] \cap [b, c]\). The authors first verify that the median spaces constitute a \(\Phi\)-structured category in the sense above; hence \(\kappa\)-Parovičenko median spaces of weight \(\leq\kappa^{<\kappa}\) exist. The main theorem is a structural characterization of such spaces; finally they prove that the \(\mathsf{GCH}\) holds at \(\kappa\) (i.e., \(\kappa^+= 2^\kappa\)) if and only if every two \(\kappa^+\)-Parovičenko median spaces of weight \(\leq2^\kappa\) are (median space) isomorphic.