On a core concept of Arhangel'skiĭ (Q972554)

\textit{A. V. Arhangel'skii} introduced the notion of the core (a cardinal number) associated with every locally compact Hausdorff space [Topology Appl. 154, No.~3, 625--634 (2007; Zbl 1118.54005)]. A special case considered in this paper is that of a countable core. A locally compact Hausdorff space has countable core if and only if it has a countable cover by sets each of which is compact from inside (a set \(Y\) in a space \(X\) is said to be compact from inside provided every subset of \(Y\) that is closed in \(X\) is compact). Locally compact spaces of countable core generalize locally compact \(\sigma\)-compact spaces. In the paper under review, the author answers one question raised by Arhangel'skii, and partially answers another. The author answers Problem 3.4 of [loc. cit.]: Is there in ZFC a compact space such that every open subspace of \(X\) has countable core, but \(X\) is not perfectly normal? He shows the answer is negative (assuming MA + \(\neg\)CH). Then he partially answers Problem 1.16: Whether every locally compact space with a \(G_\delta\)-diagonal and countable core is \(\sigma\)-compact? The author shows that under MA \(+\neg\)CH every locally compact space of countable core, a \(G_\delta\)-diagonal and with Lindelöf number at most \(\aleph_1\) is \(\sigma\)-compact. The paper contains many results related to these two.