Ordinal Ramsey: For which \(\alpha\) does \(\omega^{\alpha} → (\omega^{\alpha}, 3)^{2}\)?

Here we use the following arrow notation, first introduced by Rado:

\(\displaystyle \kappa \rightarrow ( \lambda_{\nu})_{\gamma}^r \)

which means that for any function \( f: [\kappa]^r \rightarrow \gamma\) there are \( \nu < \gamma\) and \( H \subset \kappa\) such that \( H\) has order type \( \lambda_{\nu} \) and \( f(Y) = \nu\) for all \( Y \in [H]^r\) (where \( [H]^r\) denotes the set of \( r\)-element subsets of \( H\)). If \( \lambda_{\nu}=\lambda\) for all \( \nu < \gamma\), then we write \( \kappa\rightarrow (\lambda)_{\gamma}^r\). In this language, Ramsey's theorem can be written as

\(\displaystyle \omega \rightarrow (\omega)_k^r \)

for \( 1 \leq r,k < \omega.\)

A conjecture on ordinary partition relations for ordinals ($1000, proposed by Erdös and Hajnal [3])

Determine the \(\alpha\)'s for which \(\omega^{\alpha} \rightarrow (\omega^{\alpha},3)^2\).

Galvin and Larson [4] showed that such \( \alpha\) must be of the form \( \omega^{\beta}\). Chang [1] proved \( \omega^{\omega} \rightarrow (\omega^{\omega},3)^2\). Milner [7] generalized the proof of Chang to show \( \omega^{\omega} \rightarrow (\omega^{\omega},n)^2\) for \( n < \omega\), and Larson [5] gave a simpler proof.

There have been many recent developments on ordinary partition relations for countable ordinals. Schipperus [8] proved that, if \( \beta\) is the sum of at most two indecomposables, then

\begin{equation} \omega^{\omega^{\beta}} \rightarrow ( \omega^{\omega^{\beta}},3)^2. \end{equation}

In the other direction, Schipperus [8] and Larson [6] showed that, if \( \beta\) is the sum of two indecomposables, then

\begin{equation} \omega^{\omega^{\beta}} \not \rightarrow ( \omega^{\omega^{\beta}},5)^2. \end{equation}

Darby [2] proved that, if \( \beta\) is the sum of three indecomposables, then

\begin{equation} \omega^{\omega^{\beta}} \not \rightarrow ( \omega^{\omega^{\beta}},4)^2. \end{equation}

Schipperus [8] also proved that, if \( \beta\) is the sum of four indecomposables, then

\begin{equation} \omega^{\omega^{\beta}} \not \rightarrow ( \omega^{\omega^{\beta}},3)^2. \end{equation}


Bibliography
1 C. C. Chang, A partition theorem for the complete graph on \( \omega^{\omega}\), J. Comb. Theory Ser. A 12 (1972), 396-452.

2 C. Darby, Negative partition relations for ordinals \( \omega^{\omega^{\alpha}}\), J. Comb. Theory Ser. B 76 (1999), 205-222.

3 P. Erdős and A. Hajnal, Unsolved problems in set theory, Axiomatic Set Theory (Proc. Sympos. Pure Math., Vol. XIII, Part I, Univ. California, Los Angeles, Calif,. 1967), 17-48, Amer. Math. Soc., Providence, R. I., 1971.

4 F. Galvin and J. Larson, Pinning countable ordinals, Fund. Math. 82 (1974/75), 357-361.

5 J. A. Larson, A short proof of a partition theorem for the ordinal \( \omega^{\omega}\), Ann. Math. Logic 6 (1973/74), 129-145.

6 J. A. Larson, An ordinal partition avoiding pentagrams, preprint.

7 E. C. Milner, Lecture notes on partition relations for ordinal numbers (1972), unpublished.

8 Rene Schipperus, Countable partition ordinals, Ph. D. thesis, Univ. of Calgary. Published version: Annals of Pure and Applied Logic 161 (2010), 1195-1215.