On Sierpiński sets, Hurewicz spaces and Hilgers functions

Abstract

The Hurewicz property is a classical generalization of $\sigma$-compactness and Sierpiński sets (whose existence follows from CH) are standard examples of non-$\sigma$-compact Hurewicz spaces. We show, solving a problem stated by Szewczak and Tsaban, that for each Sierpiński set S of cardinality at least $\mathfrak{b}$ there is a Hurewicz space H with $S\times H$ not Hurewicz. Some other questions in the literature concerning this topic are also answered.