Is $\omega$ in every model of ZFC always isomorphic to the standard natural numbers

model-theoryset-theory

ZFC can have some very odd models one of them being countable. Is it true that in any model of ZFC $\omega$ with the empty set as zero the successor function $S(x):= x\cup\{x\}$ and the addition and moltiplication functions defined by recursion is isomorphic to the "real" natural numbers. I know that Second order arithmetic with quantifiers over all the subsets of it's domain is categorical but from my understanding in some ZFC models not all of the subsets of $\omega$ are sets

Best Answer

No (assuming ZFC is consistent). This is essentially immediate from the compactness theorem. For instance, add uncountably many constant symbols $c_i$ to the language of ZFC, and add axioms saying that $c_i\neq c_j$ for each $i\neq j$ and $c_i\in\omega$ for each $i$. Every finite subset of the resulting theory is consistent, since it will only involve finitely many of the $c_i$ and so we can send those $c_i$ to distinct natural numbers in some model of ZFC and the rest to $0$. So by compactness, this theory has a model $M$. Then $M$ is a model of ZFC such that $\omega^M$ has (externally) uncountably many elements.