Aleph number 1

Aleph number
In set theory, the aleph numbers are a sequence of numbers used to represent
the cardinality (or size) of infinite sets. They are named after the symbol used
to denote them, the Hebrew letter aleph ( ).
The cardinality of the natural numbers is (read aleph-naught; also
aleph-null or aleph-zero), the next larger cardinality is aleph-one , then
and so on. Continuing in this manner, it is possible to define a cardinal
number for every ordinal number α, as described below.
The concept goes back to Georg Cantor, who defined the notion of cardinality
and realized that infinite sets can have different cardinalities. Aleph-naught, the smallest infinite
The aleph numbers differ from the infinity (∞) commonly found in algebra cardinal number

and calculus. Alephs measure the sizes of sets; infinity, on the other hand, is
commonly defined as an extreme limit of the real number line (applied to a function or sequence that "diverges to
infinity" or "increases without bound"), or an extreme point of the extended real number line.

Aleph-naught
is the cardinality of the set of all natural numbers, and is the first transfinite cardinal. A set has cardinality if
and only if it is countably infinite, which is the case if and only if it can be put into a direct bijection, or "one-to-one
correspondence", with the natural numbers. Such sets include the set of all prime numbers, the set of all integers, the
set of all rational numbers, the set of algebraic numbers, the set of binary strings of all finite lengths, and the set of
all finite subsets of any countably infinite set.
If the axiom of countable choice (a weaker version of the axiom of choice) holds, then is smaller than any other
infinite cardinal.

Aleph-one
is the cardinality of the set of all countable ordinal numbers, called ω1 or Ω. Note that this ω1 is itself an ordinal
number larger than all countable ones, so it is an uncountable set. Therefore is distinct from . The definition
of implies (in ZF, Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory without the axiom of choice) that no cardinal number is between
and . If the axiom of choice (AC) is used, it can be further proved that the class of cardinal numbers is totally
ordered, and thus is the second-smallest infinite cardinal number. Using AC we can show one of the most useful
properties of the set Ω: any countable subset of Ω has an upper bound in Ω. (This follows from the fact that a
countable union of countable sets is countable, one of the most common applications of AC.) This fact is analogous
to the situation in : any finite set of natural numbers has a maximum which is also a natural number; that is,
finite unions of finite sets are finite.
Ω is actually a useful concept, if somewhat exotic-sounding. An example application is "closing" with respect to
countable operations; e.g., trying to explicitly describe the σ-algebra generated by an arbitrary collection of subsets.
This is harder than most explicit descriptions of "generation" in algebra (vector spaces, groups, etc.) because in those
cases we only have to close with respect to finite operations—sums, products, and the like. The process involves
defining, for each countable ordinal, via transfinite induction, a set by "throwing in" all possible countable unions
and complements, and taking the union of all that over all of Ω.
Aleph number 2

The continuum hypothesis

The cardinality of the set of real numbers (cardinality of the continuum) is . It is not clear where this number fits
in the aleph number hierarchy. It follows from ZFC (Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory with the axiom of choice) that the
celebrated continuum hypothesis, CH, is equivalent to the identity

CH is independent of ZFC: it can be neither proven nor disproven within the context of that axiom system (provided
that ZFC is consistent). That it is consistent with ZFC was demonstrated by Kurt Gödel in 1940 when he showed that
its negation is not a theorem of ZFC. That it is independent of ZFC was demonstrated by Paul Cohen in 1963 when
he showed, conversely, that the CH itself is not a theorem of ZFC by the (then novel) method of forcing.

Aleph-ω
Conventionally the smallest infinite ordinal is denoted ω, and the cardinal number is the smallest upper bound of

Aleph-ω is the first uncountable cardinal number that can be demonstrated within Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory not to
be equal to the cardinality of the set of all real numbers; for any positive integer n we can consistently assume that
, and moreover it is possible to assume is as large as we like. We are only forced to avoid setting it
to certain special cardinals with cofinality , meaning there is an unbounded function from to it.

Aleph-α for general α

To define for arbitrary ordinal number , we must define the successor cardinal operation, which assigns to
any cardinal number ρ the next bigger well-ordered cardinal ρ+. (If the axiom of choice holds, this is the next bigger
cardinal.)
We can then define the aleph numbers as follows

and for λ, an infinite limit ordinal,

The α-th infinite initial ordinal is written . Its cardinality is written . See initial ordinal.
In ZFC the function is a bijection between the ordinals and the infinite cardinals.[1]

Fixed points of omega

For any ordinal α we have

In many cases is strictly greater than α. For example, for any successor ordinal α this holds. There are, however,
some limit ordinals which are fixed points of the omega function, because of the fixed-point lemma for normal
functions. The first such is the limit of the sequence

Any weakly inaccessible cardinal is also a fixed point of the aleph function.
Aleph number 3

References
Notes
[1] aleph numbers (http:/ / planetmath. org/ encyclopedia/ AlephNumbers. html) at PlanetMath.

External links
• Weisstein, Eric W., " Aleph-0 (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Aleph-0.html)" from MathWorld.
Article Sources and Contributors 4

Article Sources and Contributors

Aleph number  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=415556244  Contributors: 08ewingr, Adavis444, Adrian 1001, Agrumer, Aleph4, Alerante, Angela, Anonymous Dissident,
Argentino, Arthur Rubin, AxelBoldt, Benjamin Barenblat, Benoit rigaut, Bevo, Beyond My Ken, BillFlis, C17GMaster, CBM, CRGreathouse, Calair, Charles Matthews, Chinju, Choni,
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Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

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