Ultrafilters play a significant role in model theory to characterize logics having various compactness and interpolation properties. They also provide a general method to construct extensions of first-order logic having these properties. A main result of this paper is that every class $\Omega $ of uniform ultrafilters generates a $\Delta $-closed logic ${\mathcal {L}}_\Omega $. ${\mathcal {L}}_\Omega $ is $\omega $-relatively compact iff some $D\in \Omega $ fails to be $\omega _1$-complete iff ${\mathcal {L}}_\Omega $ does not contain the quantifier “there are uncountably many.” If $\Omega $ is a set, or if it contains a countably incomplete ultrafilter, then ${\mathcal {L}}_\Omega $ is not generated by Mostowski cardinality quantifiers. Assuming $\neg 0^\sharp $ or $\neg L^{\mu }$, if $D\in \Omega $ is a uniform ultrafilter over a regular cardinal $\nu $, then every family $\Psi $ of formulas in ${\mathcal {L}}_\Omega $ with $|\Phi |\leq \nu $ satisfies the compactness theorem. In particular, if $\Omega $ is a proper class of uniform ultrafilters over regular cardinals, ${\mathcal {L}}_\Omega $ is compact.

The stable core, an inner model of the form $\langle L[S],\in , S\rangle $ for a simply definable predicate S, was introduced by the first author in [8], where he showed that V is a class forcing extension of its stable core. We study the structural properties of the stable core and its interactions with large cardinals. We show that the $\operatorname {GCH} $ can fail at all regular cardinals in the stable core, that the stable core can have a discrete proper class of measurable cardinals, but that measurable cardinals need not be downward absolute to the stable core. Moreover, we show that, if large cardinals exist in V, then the stable core has inner models with a proper class of measurable limits of measurables, with a proper class of measurable limits of measurable limits of measurables, and so forth. We show this by providing a characterization of natural inner models $L[C_1, \dots , C_n]$ for specially nested class clubs $C_1, \dots , C_n$, like those arising in the stable core, generalizing recent results of Welch [29].

Assuming the existence of suitable large cardinals, we show it is consistent that the Provability logic $\mathbf {GL}$ is complete with respect to the filter sequence of normal measures. This result answers a question of Andreas Blass from 1990 and a related question of Beklemishev and Joosten.

We investigate iterating the construction of $C^{*}$, the L-like inner model constructed using first order logic augmented with the “cofinality $\omega $” quantifier. We first show that $\left (C^{*}\right )^{C^{*}}=C^{*}\ne L$ is equiconsistent with $\mathrm {ZFC}$, as well as having finite strictly decreasing sequences of iterated $C^{*}$s. We then show that in models of the form $L[U]$ we get infinite decreasing sequences of length $\omega $, and that an inner model with a measurable cardinal is required for that.

We prove that the existence of a measurable cardinal is equivalent to the existence of a normal space whose modal logic coincides with the modal logic of the Kripke frame isomorphic to the powerset of a two element set.

Criteria are obtained for a filter ${\cal F}$ of subsets of a set I to be an intersection of finitely many ultrafilters, respectively, finitely many κ-complete ultrafilters for a given uncountable cardinal $\kappa .$ From these, general results are deduced concerning homomorphisms on infinite direct product groups, which yield quick proofs of some results in the literature: the Łoś–Eda theorem (characterizing homomorphisms from a not-necessarily-countable direct product of modules to a slender module), and some results of Nahlus and the author on homomorphisms on infinite direct products of not-necessarily-associative k-algebras. The same tools allow other results of Nahlus and the author to be nontrivially strengthened, and yield an analog to one of their results, with nonabelian groups taking the place of k-algebras.

We briefly examine the question of how the common technique used in applying the general results of this note to k-algebras on the one hand, and to nonabelian groups on the other, might be extended to more general varieties of algebras in the sense of universal algebra.

In a final section, the Erdős–Kaplansky theorem on dimensions of vector spaces ${D^I}$$(D$ a division ring) is extended to reduced products ${D^I}/{\cal F},$ and an application is noted.

We obtain an equiconsistency for a weak form of universal indestructibility for strongness. The equiconsistency is relative to a cardinal weaker in consistency strength than a Woodin cardinal, Stewart Baldwin's notion of hyperstrong cardinal. We also briefly indicate how our methods are applicable to universal indestructibility for supercompactness and strong compactness.

This paper investigates when it is possible for a partial ordering ℙ to force Pk(Λ)\V to be stationary in Vℙ. It follows from a result of Gitik that whenever ℙ adds a new real, then Pk(Λ)\V is stationary in Vℙ for each regular uncountable cardinal κ in Vℙ and all cardinals λ ≥ κ in Vℙ [4], However, a covering theorem of Magidor implies that when no new ω-sequences are added, large cardinals become necessary [7]. The following is equiconsistent with a proper class of ω1-Erdős cardinals: If ℙ is ℵ1-Cohen forcing, then Pk(Λ)\V is stationary in Vℙ, for all regular κ ≥ ℵ2and all λ ≩ κ. The following is equiconsistent with an ω1-Erdős cardinal: If ℙ is ℵ1-Cohen forcing, then is stationary in Vℙ. The following is equiconsistent with κ measurable cardinals: If ℙ is κ-Cohen forcing, then is stationary in Vℙ.

We prove some results related to the problem of blowing up the power set of the least measurable cardinal. Our forcing results improve those of [1] by using the optimal hypothesis.

Combining techniques of the first author and Shelah with ideas of Magidor, we show how to get a model in which, for fixed but arbitrary finite n, the first n strongly compact cardinals k1..…kn are so that ki; for i = 1..…n is both the ith measurable cardinal and supercompact. This generalizes an unpublished theorem of Magidor and answers a question of Apter and Shelah.

A certain natural extension B of the Borel σ-algebra is studied in generalized weakly θ-refinable spaces. It is shown that a set belongs to B whenever it belongs to B locally. From this it is derived that if ℵωα is more complicated than aunion of less than ℵα weakly θ-refinable subspaces.