A nonstandard approach to realcompactness with applications to the equation \(v(X \times Y) = v(X) \times v(Y)\) (Q1910718)

In this interesting paper, the author, using Robinson-styled nonstandard analysis with polysaturated enlargements, extensively investigates for topological spaces the pseudonearstandard points, \(psns^* X= \{x\in{^* X}|^* f(x) \in ns^* \mathbb{R}\) for all continuous \(f: X\to \mathbb{R}\}\), where \(ns^* \mathbb{R}\) are the nearstandard hyperreals. He obtains nonstandard characterizations for the property that the realcompactificate \(v(X)\) is locally compact or a bi-\(k\)-space. He shows that the equation \(psns^* (X\times Y) = psns^* X\times psns^* Y\) is equivalent to the question of whether the extension of the identity map \(\text{id}: X\times Y\to v(X) \times v (Y)\) to \(v(X \times Y)\) is a biquotient map and he gives a sufficient condition. Further, he shows that if \(X\) is discrete and \(Y\) is pseudocompact, then the \(psns\) equation holds. On the other hand, he shows, in general, that the \(psns\) equation is not equivalent to the equation \(v(X \times Y) = v(X) \times v(Y)\) under the assumed existence of a measurable cardinal. However, if \(v(X)\) and \(v(Y)\) are bi-\(k\)-spaces, then the validity of both equations is equivalent to the property that the product of any two bounded subsets is bounded.