CLASSICAL DESCRIPTIVE SET THEORY

S. M. Srivastava
INDIAN STATISTICAL INSTITUTE, Kolkata
Lecture delivered at
the Indian Winter School on Logic
I. I. T. Kanpur.
1
Topological Preliminaries.
Denition. A metric d on a non-empty set X is a func-
tion d : XX [0, ) satisfying the following conditions.
For every x, y, z X,
(1) d(x, y) = 0 x = y.
(2) d(x, y) = d(y, x).
(3) d(x, z) d(x, y) +d(y, z).
Example. Let X = = 0, 1, 2, . . . be the set of all
natural numbers and d(m, n) = 1 whenever m ,= n. Of
course, d(m, n) = 0 whenever m = n.
Example. Let X = R
n
or X a subset of R
n
such as
[0, 1]
n
. For (x
1
, , x
n
) and (y
1
, , y
n
), set
d((x
1
, , x
n
), (y
1
, , y
n
)) =

1
(x
i
y
i
)
2
.
Example. Let X =

, the set of all sequences of natu-

ral numbers, or X = 0, 1

, the set of all sequences of 0s

and 1s. For = (0), (1), . . ., = (0), (1), . . . in
X, ,= , dene
d(, ) =
1
The least n((n) ,= (n)) + 1
.
2
Exercise. Check that d dened in all the above examples
is a metric.
Denition. Let (X, d) be a metric space, x X and
r > 0, set
B(x, r) = y X : d(x, y) < r.
We call B(x, r) the open ball in X with centre x and radius
r.
Exercise. Let B(x, r) and B(y, s) be open balls in a
metric space (X, d) and z B(x, r) B(y, s). Show that
there is a positive real number t such that
B(z, t) B(x, r) B(y, s).
Denition. A sequence x
n
in a metric space is said to
converge to a point x X if
> 0Nn N(d(x
n
, x) < ).
A sequence x
n
is called a Cauchy sequence if
> 0Nm, n N(d(x
m
, x
n
) < ).
Exercise. Show that every convergent sequence is Cauchy.
3
Example. Let Q be the set of all rational numbers. Set
x
n
=
n

1
1
i!
.
Show that x
n
is a Cauchy sequence that does not con-
verge to any point in Q.
Denition. A metric space (X, d) is called complete if
every Cauchy sequence in X is convergent.
Exercise. Show that the metric spaces ,

, 0, 1

,
R
n
and [0, 1]
n
dened in the beginning of this section are
all complete.
Denition. Let (X, d) be a metric space. A subset U of
X is open in X if
x Ur > 0(B(x, r) U),
i.e., U is the union of a family of open balls.
Exercise. Show the following:
(1) and X are open in X.
(2) If U and V are open in X, so is U V .
(3) If U

is a family of open sets in X, so is U

.
(4) There is a sequence of open sets in R whose intersec-
tion is not open.
4
(5) Every subset of is open in .
Denition. Let (X, d) be a metric space. A subset F of
X is closed in X if X F is open in X.
Exercise. Show the following:
(1) and X are closed in X.
(2) If U and V are closed in X, so is U V .
(3) If U

is a family of closed sets in X, so is U

.
(4) Every subset of is closed in .
Denition. A subset A of a metric space X is called a
G

set in X if we can write A =

n
U
n
, U
n
s open in X.
A subset A of X is called an F

set in X if we can write

A =
n
F
n
, F
n
s closed in X.
Exercise. Let (X, d) be a metric space and F X
closed. For each n 1, set
U
n
= y X : x A(d(x, y) < 1/n).
Show that each U
n
is open and F = U
n
. Conclude that
every closed set in a metric space X is a G

set in X and
every open set in X is an F

.
5
Denition. A subset D of X is called dense if DU ,=
for every non-empty open set U. A metric space X is called
separable if it has a countable dense subset. A metric space
that is complete and separable is also called a Polish space.
Exercise. Show that the metric spaces ,

, 0, 1

,
R
n
and [0, 1]
n
dened in the beginning of this section are
all separable.
Denition. Let (X, d) be a metric space and B a family
of open subsets of X. We call B a base (for the toplogy of)
X if
open Ux UB B(x B U).
Equivalently, B is a base for X if every set in B is open and
if every open set X is the union of a subfamily of B. We
call X second countable if X has a countable base.
Exercise. For s
n
, set
(s) =

: [n = s.
Show that (s) : s
<
is a base for

.
Exercise. Show that a metric space is second countable
if and only if it is separable.
6
Product metric. Let (X
n
, d
n
), n 1, be a sequence of
metric spaces and X =
n
X
n
. For (x
n
), (y
n
) X, dene
d((x
n
), (y
n
)) =

n
d
n
(x
n
, y
n
) 1
2
n
.
Then d is a metric on X. Convergence in (X.d) is the co-
ordinatewise convergence. Further, X is separable (com-
plete) if and only if each X
n
is so.
Exercise. Let X and Y be metric spaces and f : X Y
a continuous map. Show that its graph
gr(f) = (x, y) : X Y : y = f(x)
is closed in X.
Here is a result which makes

the single most important

Polish space, at least as far as the Descriptive set Theory
is concerned.
Theorem. Every Polish space is a continuous image of

.
Proof. Let (X, d) be a complete separable metric space.
Fix a countable base B for X containing X. For any A X,
set
diameter(A) = supd(x, y) : x, y A.
7
Assume, without loss of generality, diameter(X) < 1. Let

<
denote the set of all nite sequences of natural numbers
including the empty sequence e. Set
U
e
= X.
Suppose for a nite sequence s we have dened an U
s
B
of diameter < 2
[s[
, where [s[ denotes the length of s.
Get a sequence U
sn
in B that covers U
s
. Further assume
that the diameter of each U
sn
is < 2
[s[1
and the closure
of each U
sn
is contained in U
s
.
Note that for any

,
n
U
[n
is a singleton, where
[n denotes the restriction of to n = 0, 1, , n 1.
Set f() to be the unique point in
n
U
[n
. Check that
f :

X is a continuous map from

onto X.
Later we shall state one more result so that we can de-
velop the entire theory for

only.
8
Standard Borel Spaces
Denition. Let X be a non-empty set. An algebra T
on X is a family of subsets of X such that
(1) , X are in T.
(2) If A is in T, so is X A, i.e., T is closed under
complementations.
(3) If A, B T, so does A B, i.e., T is closed under
nite unions.
Denition. Let X be a non-empty set. A -algebra /
on X is a family of subsets of X such that
(1) , X are in /.
(2) If A is in /, so is X A.
(3) If A
n
is a sequence is in /,
n
A
n
/, i.e., / is
closed under nite unions.
Exercise. Show that every -algebra is closed under
countable intersections.
It is easy to see that the intersection of a family of -
algebras is a -algebra. So, given any family ( of subsets
of a set X, there is a smallest -algebra on X containing
(.
9
Denition. The smallest -algebra containing all open
subsets of a metric space X is called the Borel -algebra of
X. We shall write B
X
to denote the Borel -algebra of X.
Any set in B
X
is called a Borel subset of X.
Here are a few very easy remarks.
(1) Since every subset of is open in X, every subset of
of is Borel.
(2) Every closed set, every F

set and every G

set in a
metric space is Borel in X.
(3) Let (X, d) be a metric space and x X. Since x is
closed, it is Borel in X. It follows that every count-
able subset of X is Borel.
Denition. Let X and Y be metric space. A map f :
X Y is called Borel measurable or simply Borel if for
every open set U in Y , f
1
(U) is Borel in X.
Exercise. Let X, Y and Z be metric spaces and f :
X Y , g : Y Z Borel maps. Show the following:
(1) For every Borel set B in Y , f
1
(B) is Borel in X.
(2) The map g f : X Z is Borel.
(3) Assume, moreover, Y is second countable and B a
countable base for Y . Then a map h : X Y is
10
Borel if and only if f
1
(B) is Borel in X for every
B B.
(4) If Y is second countable, show that gr(f) is Borel.
Lemma. Let X, Y be metric spaces and f
n
: X Y a
Borel map, n 0. Assume that for each x X, f
n
(x) is
convergent and converges to, say f(x). Then f : X Y is
Borel.
Proof. Let U Y be open. The for any x X,
f(x) U Nn N(f
n
(x) U).
Thus,
f
1
(U) =
N

nN
f
1
n
(U).
Since each f
n
is Borel, for every open U in X, f
1
n
(U) is
Borel. Hence, f
1
(U) is Borel.
Exercise. Let X, Y
n
, n 1, be metric spaces. Further
assume that each Y
n
is separable. Show that a map f : X

n
Y
n
is Borel if and only if each
n
f : X Y
n
, n 1, is
Borel, where
n
: Y Y
n
is the projection function to Y
n
.
Lemma. Let X be a metric space. Then B
X
is the
smallest class ( of subsets of X that contains all open (or
11
all closed sets) and that is closed under countable unions
and countable intersections.
Proof. We shall consider the open case only because the
closed case is proved similarly. The main reason for this
result to be true is that every closed set in X is a G

in X.
(For closed case, use that every open set is an F

.) Clearly
( B
X
. So, the result will be proved if we show that ( is
closed under complementations. Set
T = A ( : X A (.
Since every closed set is a G

, every open set is in T. Now

take a sequence A
n
in T. So for every n, both A
n
and
its complement X A
n
are in (. We have
X
n
A
n
=
n
(X A
n
)
and
X
n
A
n
=
n
(X A
n
).
Since ( is closed under countable unions and countable in-
tersections, both
n
A
n
and
n
A
n
are in T. Since ( is
the smallest family containing all open sets and closed un-
der countable unions and countable intersections, it follows
that ( T, i.e., ( is closed under complementations.
12
As a corrolary to this lemma we get the following inter-
esting result.
Theorem. Every standard Borel space is a continuous
image of

.
Proof. Let (X, d) be a complete, separable metric space.
Let ( denote the family of all subsets of X that is contin-
uous image of

. Since every closed subset of X is a

complete separable metric space, they belong to (. By the
last lemma, it is now sucient to show that for every se-
quence A
n
in (,
n
A
n
,
n
A
n
(. Towards showing it,
x a continuous onto map f
n
:

A
n
, n 0.
Dene g :

X by
g() = f
(0)
((1), (2), . . .)

.
Check that g is a continuous map on

with range
n
A
n
.
To show that
n
A
n
(, set
C = (
0
,
1
, . . .) (

: f
0
(
0
) = f
1
(
1
) = f
2
(
2
) = . . ..
Check that C is a Polish space. Hence there is a continuous
map h from

onto C. Now set

f() = f
0
(h()(0)),

.
Then f is a continuous map from C onto
n
A
n
.
13
Cardinalities of Standard Borel Spaces
Denition. A Borel subset of a Polish space is called
standard Borel.
We prove the following important result in this section.
Theorem. Any uncountable metric space that is a con-
tinuous image of

is of the cardinality c. In particular,

any uncountable standard Borel space is of the cardinality
c.
Remark. This result was rst proved by P. S. Alexan-
drov who, it seems, had thought that a counterexample to
the Continuum Hypothesis can be found among standard
Borel spaces. So, he was a bit disappointed to prove this
result which is arguably the rst important result in De-
scriptive Set Theory. In its proof the Souslin operation
makes its rst appearance. Incidentally, the Souslin opera-
tion was initially called Operation(A). But Alexandrov was
not a favorite of Lusin and Souslin was. This seems to be
the reason for Lusin changing the name of this important
set-theoretic operation.
The proof needs the following result from topology.
14
Cantor-Bendixson Theorem. Let X be a second count-
able space. Then we can write X = Y Z, where Y and Z
are disjoint, Y is countable and open and Z has no isolated
points.
Proof. Take a countable base B for X. Set
Y = U B : [U[
0
,
and Z = X Y .
Proof of the Theorem. Let f :

X be a continu-
ous map with range uncountable. By the Axiom of Choice
there is an uncountable subset Y of

such that f[Y is one-

to-one. By the Cantor-Bendixson theorem, without loss of
generality, we can assume that Y has no isolated points.
Let 2
<
be the set of all nite sequences of 0s and 1s in-
cluding the empty sequence e. For each s 2
<
, we dene
closed set F
s
in

satisfying the following properties:

(1) F
s
Y ,= .
(2) Diameter of F
s
< 2
[s[
.
(3) F
s
F
s
for = 0 or 1.
(4) (s ,= t [s[ = [t[) F
s
F
t
= .
(5) (s ,= t [s[ = [t[) f(F
s
) f(F
t
) = .
15
We assume the existence of such a system of closed sets
and complete the proof rst. For any 2

, dene g()
to be the unique point in
n
F
[n
. Now note that f g is
a one-to-one function from 2

into the range of f. So, the

cardinality of the range of f is c.
We dene F
s
: s 2
<
by induction on the length of s.
Set U
e
= F
e
=

. Note that U
e
is open. Now let U
s
be an
open set whose closure is F
s
and which intersects Y . Since
Y has no isolated points, there exists at least two distint
points in Y U
s
, say x
0
and x
1
. Since f is one-to-one on
Y , f(x
0
) ,= f(x
1
). By continuity of f we get open sets
U
s0
x
0
and U
s1
x
1
of diameters < 2
[s[1
, with closures
contained in U
s
and such that f(U
s0
) f(U
s1
) = . Set
F
s
= U
s
, = 0 or 1.
Remark. We have proved that any uncountable space
that is a continuous image

contains a homeomorph of
2

. Hence, such spaces also contains a homeomorph of

.
Denition. Two metric spaces X and Y are called Borel
isomorphic if there is a bijection f : X Y such that both
f and f
1
are Borel.
16
A very important result in theory of standard Borel spaces
is the following:
Borel Isomorphism Theorem. Two standard Borel
spaces are Borel isomorphic if and only if they are of the
same the cardinalities. In particular, every uncountable
Polish space (being of the cardinality c) is Borel isomorphic
to

.
Probably, the simplest proof of it is given in
B. V. Rao and S. M. Srivastava, An elementary proof of
the Borel isomorphism theorem, Real Analysis Exchange,
20(1), 1994-95, 13.
This proof is also presented in
S. M. Srivastava, A Course on Borel Sets, GTM 180,
Springer.
Remark. We shall be interested in studying Borel sets
and Projective sets in Polish spaces. Mainly because of the
Borel isomorphism theorem, it is sucient to develop the
theory on

.
17
Hierarchy of Borel Sets.
The main goal of this section is to present a universal set
argument. The idea is quite important.
Let X be a set and T a family of subsets of X. We put
T = A X : X A T,
T

=
n
A
n
: A
n
T
and
T

=
n
A
n
: A
n
T.
So, T

(T

) is the family of countable unions (resp. count-

able intersections) of sets in T. The family of nite unions
(nite intersections) of sets in T will be denoted by T
s
(resp. T
d
). It is easily seen that
T T
s
T

, T T
d
T

,
T

= (T)

, and T

= (T)

.
Let X =

or any metric space. Let

0
1
denote the set
of all open sets in

and
0
1
denote the set of all closed
sets. Note that
0
1
equals
0
1
.
Finally we put

0
1
=
0
1

0
1
.
18
For ordinals 1 < <
1
, we dene
0

to be the collection
of those subsets A of X of the form
n
(XB
n
), where B
n

n
for some
n
< . Finally dene
0

to be
0

and

=
0

.
Note that for 1 < <
1
,
0

equals (
<

and
0

equals (
<

.
The next few results can be easily proved by induction
on .
Theorem.
0

is closed under countable unions and

nite intersections,
0

is closed under nite unions and

countable intersections and
0

is closed under nite unions,

nite intersections and complementations.
Theorem. Let X be any metric space.
(1)
0

0
+1
,
0

0
+1
.
(2)
0

0
+1
.
Theorem. For any metric space X, B
X
=
<
1

and
also B
X
=
<
1

It is interesting to note that if X is an uncountable stan-

dard Borel space, the above hierarchy of Borel sets is strict,
i.e., for every 1 <
1
,
0

,=
0

. The idea of its proof is

19
also quite important. We shall prove the result for X =

only. The result for general X follows quite easily from

this.
So x a countable base B = W
n
for X =

. Dene
U

1
= (, )

: n( W
(n)
).
It is easily checked that U

1
is open in

and that for

every open set V in

, there is an

such that
V = : (, ) U

1
.
Such an universal open set produces a closed set that is not
open:
Set
A =

: (, ) , U

.
Note that A is closed in

. Suppose A is also open. Then

get a

such that
A = : (, ) U

1
.
Now, by the Cantors diagonal argument, we see that
A , A.
This contradiction proves that A is not open.
20
By setting
U

1
= (

) U

1
we get an universal closed sets. Now by induction on ,
we produce an universal set for each Borel pointclasses
0

and
0

. Then by the above diagonal argument, we shall

arrive at our claim.
Suppose 1 < <
1
and that universal sets U

for
0

and U

for
0

have been dened for all 1 < .

We produce an universal set U

for
0

now. Fix a
sequence of ordinals
n
, 1
n
< , such that =
sup
n

n
+1. Fix a bijection (k
0
, k
1
) k
0
, k
1
) from
onto . Dene U

by
(, ) U

k(((k, 0)), (k, 1)), (k, 2)), . . .), ) U

k
.
Check that U

is in
0

and that it is univeral for

0

.
Having dened U

, take U

= (

) U

.
Exercise. Let X be an uncountable standard Borel
space. Show that for every 1 <
1
,
0

,=
0

.
21
Analytic and Coanalytic Sets.
Denition. Let X be a Polish space. A subset A of X
is called analytic if there is a continuous map f from

onto A. A subset C of X is called coanalytic if X C is

analytic.

1
1
will denote the pointclass of all analytic sets and
1
1
for the pointclass of all conalytic sets. Further, we set

1
1
=
1
1

1
1
.
We have already seen that the family of all subsets of X
that are continuous images of

is closed under countable

unions and countable intersections and that it contains all
Borel sets. Hence, we have the following theorem.
Theorem.
1
1
and
1
1
are closed under countable unions
and countable intersections. Further,
1
1
is closed under
continuous images. Borel sets are simultaneously both an-
alytic and coanalytic.
Theorem. Every uncountable analytic set is of cardinal-
ity c. Indeed, they contain a homeomorph of 0, 1

.
A very curious question arises now: Is every analytic set
Borel? Using the universal set argument, we show that
22
this is not the case. We give some equivalent denitions of
analytic sets rst.
Proposition. Let X be a Polish space and A X. The
following statements are equivalent.
(1) A is analytic.
(2) A is the projection of a closed set in X

.
(3) A is the projection of a Borel set in X

.
(4) A is the projection of a Borel set in X Y for some
Polish space Y .
(5) A is the image of a standard Borel space under a
Borel map.
Remark. Let X = Y = Z =

. There is a closed set

C in X (Y Z) that is universal for closed subsets of
Y Z. Set
U =
XY
C.
Then U is analytic and universal for all analytic subsets
of Y . Also note that W = (X Y ) U is coanalytic and
universal for coanalytic subsets of Y .
Example. Let U and W be as dened above. Set
A =

: (, ) U.
23
Then A is analytic. If possible, suppose A is Borel. Then
B =

A is analytic. Note that

B =

: (, ) , U.
There exists a

such that
B =

: (, ) U.
But then
B , B.
Theorem. Let X be a Polish space, a continuous
probability measure on X and A X analytic. Let > 0.
Then there is a compact K A such that (A K) < .
In particular, analytic and coanalytic sets are universally
measurable.
Proof. For s = (n
0
, , n
k1
)
k
and any i , set

(si) =

: [k = s (k) i.
Let

denote the outer measure induced by . Since

f(

(n)) f(), there exists n

0
such that

(f() f(

(n
0
))) < 2
1
.
We get n
1
such that for each i n
0
,

(f((i)) f(

(in
1
))) < 2
2
.
24
Proceeding inductively we get a sequence n
0
, n
1
, . . . such
that forall k and for all i
0
n
0
, , i
k1
n
k1
,

(f((i
0
, , i
k1
)) f(

(i
0
, , i
k1
, n
k
))) < 2
k1
.
Let
L =

: k((k) n
k
).
Then L is compact. Check that

(A f(L)) < .
Denition. A subset A of a Polish space X is said to
have Baire Property if there is an open set U in X such
that AU is meager.
We shall omit the proof of the next couple of theorems.
Theorem. Sets with Baire property form a -algebra; it
is the smallest -algebra containing all Borel sets and all
meager sets.
Theorem. Every analytic and every coanalytic set has
Baire property.
25
Separation and Reduction Principles.
By a pointclass we shall mean a family of subsets of all
Polish spaces. If is a pointclass, we set
= .
Denition. We say that satises separation principle
if for any two disjoint sets A and B in , there is a C in
such that
A C B C = .
Exercise. Show that if is closed under countable
unions and countable intersections and if it satises the
separation principle, then for every sequence A
n
of pair-
wise disjoint sets in , there is a sequence B
n
of pairwise
disjoint sets in such that n(A
n
B
n
).
The next result is of fundamental importance in the the-
ory of Borel sets.
First Separation Principle for Analytic Sets. (Souslin)
Let X be a Polish space and A and B be disjoint analytic
subsets. Then there is a Borel set C such that
A C B C = .
26
Thus,
1
1
satises the separation principle.
Proof. We need a lemma rst.
Lemma. Let A
n
and B
m
be a sequence of subsets
of X such that there is no Borel set C satisfying

n
A
n
C
m
B
m
C = .
Then there is a n and a m such that there is no Borel set
C
nm
satisfying
A
n
C
nm
B
m
C
nm
= .
Proof of the Lemma. Suppose for every n and m, a
Borel set C
nm
satisfying the above condition exist. Set
C =
n

m,=n
C
nm
.
Then
A C B C = .
Proof of the separation principle. Let f :

A
and f :

A be continuous surjectios. Assume that

there is no Borel set C such that
A C B C = .
27
By applying the last lemma repeatedly and proceeding by
induction, we get ,

such that for every k there is

no Borel set C satisfying
f(([k)) C g(([k)) C = .
Since A and B are disjoint, f() ,= g(). Get disjoint open
sets U and U in X such that f() U and g() V . By
continuity of f and g, there is a k such that
f(([k)) U g(([k)) V.
We have arrived at a contradiction.
Corollary. Every
1
1
set is Borel.
Mokobodzki modied the above argument beautifully,
and gave a similar proof of the following result.
Generalized Separation Principle. Let X be a Polish
and A
n
a sequence of analytic subsets such that
n
A
n
=
. Then there is a sequence B
n
of Borel sets such that
n(B
n
A
n
) and
n
B
n
= .
Theorem. Let X be a standard Borel space, Y a Polish
space and f : X Y a one-to-one Borel map. Then f(X)
is Borel.
28
Proof. Replacing X by the graph of f and f by the
projection to Y , without any loss of generality, we assume
that f is continuous. Since every standard Borel space
is a one-to-one continuous image of a closed subset of

,
without any loss of generality, we assume that X is a closed
subset of

. We shall prove the result for X =

only.
The proof can be easily modied for closed subsets of

.
By the induction on the length of s
<
, we dene a
system B
s
: s
<
of Borel sets in Y such that for
every s, t
<
and every n , the following conditions
are satised:
(1) [s[ , = [t[ B
s
B
t
= .
(2) B
sn
B
s
.
(3) f((s)) B
s
f((s)).
Since f is one-to-one and continuous, f((n)) is a se-
quence of pairwise disjoint analytic sets in Y . Hence, by the
separation principle, there is a sequence of pairwise disjoint
Borel sets, B
n
f((n)). Replacing B
n
by B
n
f((n)),
we see that the last condition is also satised by sequences
of length 1.
Suppose B
s
has been dened. Note that B
s
f((sn))
is a sequence of pairwise disjoint analytic sets in Y . Hence,
by the separation principle, there is a sequence of pairwise
29
disjoint Borel sets, B
sn
f((sn)). Replacing B
sn
by
B
s
f((sn)), we see that the last condition is also satised
by each sn.
Now observe that
f(

) =
n

[s[=n
B
s
.
Weak Reduction Principle for Coanalytic Sets.
Let X be a Polish space, C
n
a sequence of coanalytic
sets with B =
n
C
n
Borel. Then there exist pairwise dis-
joint Borel sets B
n
C
n
such that
n
B
n
=
n
C
n
.
Proof. Get Borel sets D
n
B C
n
such that
n
D
n
= .
Now take E
n
= B D
n
, n 0. Set B
0
= E
0
and for n > 0,
B
n
= E
n

m<n
E
n
.
Exercise. Let X and Y be Polish spaces and f : X Y
any map. The following conditions are equivalent:
(1) f is Borel.
(2) The graph of f is Borel.
(3) The graph of f is analytic.
30
Projective Hierarchy.
We x some notation rst. Let X and Y be Polish spaces
and P XY . We dene subsets Q =
Y
P and R =
Y
P
of X by
Q = x X : y Y ((x, y) P)
and
R = x X : y Y ((x, y) P).
Note that

Y
P = X
Y
((X Y ) P)
and

Y
P = X
Y
((X Y ) P).
Let be a pointclass, i.e., it is a family of subsets of all
Polish spaces. For any Polish space Y , we dene

X
=
Y
P : P
and

X
=
Y
P : P .
Note that

1
1
=

1
1
and

1
1
=

1
1
.
31
The projective hierarchy consists of the pointclasses
1
n
,

1
n
and
1
n
, n 1, dened by induction as follows:

1
n+1
=

1
n
and

1
n+1
=

1
n
.
Finally, we put

1
n
=
1
n

1
n
.
Projective classes have following closure properties.
(1)
1
n
=
1
n
,
1
n
=
1
n
.
(2) Let be any of the projective class
1
n
or
1
n
or

1
n
. Then is closed under countable unions and
countable intersections.
1
n
is closed under comple-
mentations. Furthr, assume that X and Y are Polish
spaces, f : X Y a Borel map and A Y is in .
Then f
1
(A) .
(3) For every Polish space Y ,
1
n
is closed under
Y
and

1
n
is closed under
Y
.
(4)
1
n

1
n

1
n+1
.
32
Universal Projective Sets.
In this section we prove that every uncountable Polish
space contains a set in
1
n
that is not in
1
n
. The proof
goes by the usual universal set argument whose existence
is based on the fact that a subset A of X is analytic if and
only if it is the projection of a closed set in X

, i.e.,

1
1
=

0
1
and that
0
1
admits universal sets.
Theorem. Let be
1
n
or
1
n
, n 1. Then for every
Polish space X, there is a set U

X in which is
universal for subsets of X.
Proof. Let be
1
1
. Let W

(X

) be a
closed set that is universal for the family of closed subsets
of X

. Then
U =

W = (, x) : ((, x, ) U)
is in
1
1
and universal for
1
1
subsets of X.
If U

X is in
1
n
and universal for
1
n
subsets of
X, then (

X)U is in
1
n
and universal for
1
n
subsets
of X.
33
If U

(X

) is in
1
n
and universal for
1
n
subsets of X

, then

U is in
1
n+1
and universal for

1
n+1
subsets of X.
Use Cantors diagonal argument in the following two ex-
ercises.
Exercise. Show that for every n 1, there is a subset
of

that is in
1
n
but not in
1
n
. Conclude this for all
uncountable Polish spaces X.
Exercise. Let n 1. Show that there is no U

in
1
n
that is universal for
1
n
subsets of

.
34
Some More Concepts And Results.
Denition. Let S X, X any set. An ordinal valued
map on S is called a norm on S.
Let be a pointclass.
Denition. Let X be Polish and S . A norm on
S is called a -norm on S, if there exists binary relations

in and

in such that for every y S,

(x S (x) (y)) x

y x

y.
The following is a non-trivial result.
Theorem. Every
1
1
set S in a Polish space admits a

1
1
-norm : S
1
.
Proposition. Let S be a
1
1
set and : S
1
a
1
1
norm. Then for every <
1
, the set
S

= x S : (x) =
is Borel.
Note that in the above proposition, S =
<
1
S

. Fur-
ther, if S is
1
1
and not Borel, then <
1
: S

,=
35
is unbounded in
1
. It is a little hard to show that if S is
Borel then S

,= only for countably many s.

Theorem. Let S be a
1
1
set. Then S is either countable
or of cardinality
1
or of cardinality c.
Exercise. Let S be a
1
2
set. Show that S is either
countable or of cardinality
1
or of cardinality c.
Denition. Let S X, X a Polish space. A scale on
S is a sequence
n
of norms on S such that whenever
x
i
S, x
i
x, and for each n,
i
(x
n
) is eventually a
constant, say
n
, x S and n(
n
(x)
n
).
Denition. Let S . A scale
n
on S is called a
-scale if each
n
is a -norm on S.
The next result is also non-trivial. It was implicit in a
proof given by Kondo. Moschovakis and his colleagues did
quite a bit of work to make things quite clear.
Theorem. Every
1
1
set admit a
1
1
-scale.
We now state an important consequence of the above
theorem.
36
Denition. A pointclass is said to have uniformization
property if for every S X Y , X, Y Polish, in , there
is a G S in such that
x
X
(S)!y((x, y) G),
where
X
: XY X is the projection map and ! means
there exists a unique.
Theorem (Kondo)
1
1
has the uniformization property.
Exercise. Show that
1
2
has the uniformization prop-
erty.
We have stated some of the important results that can be
proved in ZF +DC. We require set-theoretic hypothesis to
extend these results for higher projective classes. Professor
Benedikt Lowe will speak on this in this school.