A partition theorem for a large dense linear order (Q836116)

For \(t<\omega\), \(\mathbb Q\to (\mathbb Q)^n_{<\omega,t}\) means that, when one colors \([\mathbb Q]^n\) with finitely many colors then there is a copy \(\mathbb Q^*\) of \(\mathbb Q\) with the property that \([\mathbb Q^*]^n\) is colored with at most \(t\) colors. D. Devlin proved that for any \(n\), \(\mathbb Q\rightarrow (\mathbb Q)^n_{<\omega,t_n}\) and \(\mathbb Q\not\rightarrow (\mathbb Q)^n_{<\omega,t_n-1}\). Here \(t_n\) denotes the \(n\)-th tangent number which may be computed using the power series \(\tan x= \sum_1^{\infty} t_n \frac{x^{2n-1}}{(2n-1)!}\). The main result of the paper is the following: For every natural number \(m\) there is a \(t^+_m<\omega\) such that for any cardinal \(\kappa\) which is measurable in the generic extension obtained by adding \(\lambda\) Cohen subsets of \(\kappa\), where \(\lambda\) is some cardinal satisfying \(\lambda \rightarrow (\kappa)^{2m}_{2^{\kappa}}\), the \(\kappa\)-dense linear order \(\mathbb Q_{\kappa}\) satisfies \[ \mathbb Q_{\kappa} \rightarrow (\mathbb Q)^m_{<\omega,t^+_m} \quad\text{and} \quad \mathbb Q_{\kappa} \not\rightarrow (\mathbb Q)^m_{<\omega,t^+_m-1} . \] In order to obtain this result, the authors start with a theorem of Shelah which is a generalization of the Halpern-Läuchli theorem. Further on, they characterize \(t_m^+\) as the cardinality of a certain finite set of ordered trees and obtain an upper and a lower bound on this value. In particular, \(t^+_2 = 2\) and, for \(m>2\), \(t^+_m> t_m\).