A new aspect of the cozero lattice in pointfree topology (Q2390507)

The lattice \(\operatorname{Coz} L\), the cozero part of a completely regular frame \(L\), has hitherto been studied from the point of view of it being a sub-\(\sigma\)-frame of \(L\) -- a result proved by invoking the Axiom of Countable Choice (ACC). Numerous properties of realcompact and \({\mathcal R}\)-complete frames have been been established by the author and his collaborator in the paper [\textit{B. Banaschewski} and \textit{C. Gilmour}, ``Realcompactness and the cozero part of a frame'', Appl. Categ. Struct. 9, No. 4, 395--417 (2001; Zbl 0978.54019)] under ACC. In the present paper, the author shows that, for certain purposes, ACC is actually not required. An earlier instance where a major result (namely, \(\operatorname{Coz} L\) is a completely normal lattice) was obtained without invocation to ACC, is in the author's paper [``The Stone-Čech compactification and the cozero lattice in pointfree topology'', Appl. Categ. Struct. 15, No. 5--6, 473--479; erratum ibid. 481--482 (2007; Zbl 1151.54021)]. The present paper commences with the introduction of what the author calls Archimedean ideals of \(\operatorname{Coz} L\). These are lattice ideals \(J\) of \(\operatorname{Coz} L\) such that \(\text{coz}(\alpha)\in J\) whenever \(\alpha\) is positive in the \(f\)-ring \({\mathcal R}L\) and \(\text{coz}((n\alpha-\beta)^{+})\in J\) for all \(n\) with some suitable positive \(\beta\). The choice of terminology, as the author explains, is based on the fact that an ideal \(J\) of \(\operatorname{Coz} L\) is an Archimedean ideal precisely when the \(\ell\)-ideal \[ \text{coz}^{-1}[J]=\{\varphi\in{\mathcal R}L\mid\text{coz}(\varphi)\in J\} \] of \({\mathcal R}L\) is an Archimedean kernel, in the usual sense. By establishing, among other things, that the lattice \({\mathfrak A}\operatorname{Coz} L\) of all Archimedean ideals of \(\operatorname{Coz} L\) is a completely regular frame such that the correspondence \(L\mapsto{\mathfrak A}\operatorname{Coz} L\) is functorial, the author proves the following very delectable result: Proposition. For any completely regular frame \(L\), the join map \({\mathfrak A}\operatorname{Coz} L\to L\) is the coreflection map from \({\mathcal R}\)-complete frames as well as the only \({\mathcal R}\)-isomorphism to \(L\), up to isomorphism, with \({\mathcal R}\)-complete domain. A bounded lattice homomorphism \(\tau:\operatorname{Coz} L\to M\) to any frame \(M\) is here called an Archimedean homomorphism of \(\operatorname{Coz} L\) in case \[ \tau(\text{coz}(\alpha))=\bigvee \big\{\tau(\text{coz}(n\alpha-\beta)^{+})\mid n= 1, 2, \dots\big\}. \] It turns out that the map \(\operatorname{Coz} L\to{\mathfrak A}\operatorname{Coz} L\) taking \(\text{coz}(\alpha)\) to \({\downarrow}\text{coz}(\alpha)\) is the universal Archimede\-an homomorphism of \(\operatorname{Coz} L\). That established, \({\mathcal R}\)-complete frames are characterized as those \(L\) for which any Archimedean homomorphism \(\operatorname{Coz} L\to M\) extends to a frame homomorphism \(L\to M\), and the realcompact ones as those for which any Archimedean homomorphism \(\operatorname{Coz} L\to \mathbf{2}\) extends to a frame homomorphism \(L\to\mathbf{2}\). These characterizations are, in essence, choice-free forms of earlier criteria given in the first of the papers mentioned above. Replacing the lattice \(\operatorname{Coz} L\) with \(BL\), the Boolean part of \(L\), and the \(f\)-ring \({\mathcal R}L\) with \({\mathcal Z}L\), the \(\ell\)-ring of integer-valued continuous functions on \(L\), delivers ``discrete'' counterparts of these results. The paper closes by investigating the effects of accepting ACC into the plain of discourse. In that case, any Archimedean ideal of \(\operatorname{Coz} L\) is a \(\sigma\)-ideal, and any Archimedean homomorphism of \(\operatorname{Coz} L\) is a \(\sigma\)-frame homomorphism. It is precisely because of this that the aforementioned characterizations of \({\mathcal R}\)-completeness and realcompactness are choice-free versions of their earlier counterparts.