Second-countable compact Hausdorff spaces as remainders in \textbf{ZF} and two new notions of infiniteness (Q2033206)

A non-empty space \(K\) is called a remainder of a space \(X\) if there is a (Hausdorff) compactification \(\gamma X\) of \(X\) such that \(K\) is homeomorphic to \(\gamma X\setminus X\) . The main objective of the paper is to check, for given spaces \(X\) and \(K\), under what conditions in ZF is \(K\) a remainder of \(X\). These conditions usually involve some weakening of AC, so several such weakenings are listed, and a few new ones introduced. For example: \(M(C,S)\): Every compact metrizable metrizable space is separable. A set is \textit{cuf} if it is a countable union of finite sets. Section 2 contains the following generalization of Urysohn's metrization theorem, as well as some applications. Theorem 2.1. (ZF) If a T\(_3\) space \(X\) has a cuf base, then \(X\) is metrizable. Section 3 considers Tychonoff and Cantor cubes, \([0,1]^J\) and \(\{0,1\}^J\), in ZF. It is known that they are metrizable if and only if \(J\) is a cuf set. It is proven here that, for each of them, another equivalent condition for metrizability is the existence of a cuf base. Proposition 3.1 and Theorem 3.2. (a) A T\(_3\) space is embeddable in a metrizable Tychonoff cube if and only if it has a cuf base. (b) A T\(_3\) space is embeddable in a compact metrizable Tychonoff cube if and only if it is second-countable. Theorem 1.10 (proven in [\textit{J. Hatzenbuhler} and \textit{D. A. Mattson}, Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 82, 478--480 (1981; Zbl 0469.54008)]) gives two equivalent conditions in ZFC for every compact metrizable space \(K\) to be a remainder of a locally compact, non-compact Hausdorff space \(X\). Theorem 4.1 of the present paper gives a modification that works in ZF for every second-countable \(K\). Furthermore, a proof is given that 1.10 can not hold in its entirety in the absence of AC, but one of the two conditions is sufficient even in ZF (Theorem 4.3). Theorem 5.4. (ZF) The statement ``All metrizable compact spaces are remainders of metrizable compactifications of \(\mathbb{N}\)'' is equivalent to \(M(C,S)\). Section 5 also includes comparisons of some of the weaker forms of AC used in the text. Several known and one new permutation models are used to show various independence results.