Destructibility and Axiomatizability of Kaufmann Models

A Kaufmann model is an $ω_1$-like, recursively saturated, rather classless model of $\mathrm{PA}$ or $\mathrm{ZF}$. Such models were constructed by Kaufmann under the combinatorial principle $\diamondsuit_{ω_1}$ and Shelah showed they exist in $\mathrm{ZFC}$ by an absoluteness argument. Kaufmann models are an important witness to the incompactness of $ω_1$ similar to Aronszajn trees. In this paper we look at some set theoretic issues related to this motivated by the seemingly naïve question of whether such a model can be "killed" by forcing without collapsing $ω_1$. We show that the answer to this question is independent of $\mathrm{ZFC}$ and closely related to similar questions about Aronszajn trees. As an application of these methods we also show that it is independent of $\mathrm{ZFC}$ whether or not Kaufmann models can be axiomatized in the logic $L_{ω_1, ω} (Q)$ where $Q$ is the quantifier "there exists uncountably many".

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