Non-vanishing higher derived limits

TL;DR

This paper investigates the conditions under which higher derived limits of a certain inverse system of abelian groups do not vanish, demonstrating their non-vanishing is consistent with ZFC for all positive n.

Contribution

It proves that for any positive integer n, it is relatively consistent with ZFC that the higher derived limits do not vanish, completing the understanding of their behavior.

Findings

Higher derived limits can be non-zero for all n>0.

Consistency results are established without large cardinal assumptions.

The work completes the set-theoretic analysis of these inverse system limits.

Abstract

In the study of strong homology Marde\v{s}i\'c and Prasolov isolated a certain inverse system of abelian groups $\mathbf A$ indexed by elements of $\omega^\omega$. They showed that if strong homology is additive on a class of spaces containing closed subsets of Euclidean spaces then the higher derived limits $\lim^n \mathbf A$ must vanish, for $n>0$. They also proved that under the Continuum Hypothesis $\lim^1 \mathbf A \neq 0$. The question whether $\lim^n \mathbf A$ vanishes, for $n>0$, has attracted considerable interest from set theorists. Dow, Simon and Vaughan showed that under PFA $\lim^1 \mathbf A =0$. Bergfalk show that it is consistent that $\lim^2\mathbf A$ does not vanish. Later Bergfalk and Lambie-Hanson showed that, modulo a weakly compact cardinal, it is relatively consistent with ZFC that $\lim^n \mathbf A =0$, for all $n$. The large cardinal assumption was recently removed by Bergfalk, Hru\v{s}ak and Lambie-Henson. We complete the picture by showing that, for any $n>0$, it is relatively consistent with ZFC that $\lim^n \mathbf A \neq 0$.