On splitting infinite-fold covers

Abstract

Let $X$ be a set, $\ka$ be a cardinal number and let $\iH$ be a family of subsets of $X$ which covers each $x\in X$ at least $\ka$ times. What assumptions can ensure that $\iH$ can be decomposed into $\kappa$ many disjoint subcovers? We examine this problem under various assumptions on the set $X$ and on the cover $\iH$: among other situations, we consider covers of topological spaces by closed sets, interval covers of linearly ordered sets and covers of ${\Re }^n$ by polyhedra and by arbitrary convex sets. We focus on these problems mainly for infinite $\kappa$. Besides numerous positive and negative results, many questions turn out to be independent of the usual axioms of set theory.