We study various aspects of the size, including the cardinality, of closed unbounded subsets of [λ]<κ, especially when λ = κ+n for n ε ω. The problem is resolved into the study of the size of certain stationary sets. Relative to the existence of an ω1-Erdös cardinal it is shown consistent that ωω3 < ωω13 and every closed unbounded subsetof [ω3]<ω2 has cardinality ωω13. A weakening of the ω1-Erdös property, ω1-remarkability, is defined and shown to be retained under a large (...) class of Easton-like forcings applied to ω1-Erdös cardinals. A class of reverse-Easton forcings preserving α-Erdösness is also described, with special attention to the establishment of □-principles. Article Outline. (shrink)

We survey the definition and fundamental properties of the family of short core models, which extend the core model K of Dodd and Jensen to include α-sequences of measurable cardinals . The theory is applied to various combinatorial principles to get lower bounds for their consistency strengths in terms of the existence of sequences of measurable cardinals. We consider instances of Chang's conjecture, ‘accessible’ Jónsson cardinals, the free subset property for small cardinals, a canonization property of ω ω , and (...) a non-closure property of elementary embeddings of the universe. In some cases, equiconsistencies are obtained. (shrink)