On maximal families of independent sets with respect to asymptotic density

Abstract

We study families of subsets of $\omega$ which are independent with respect to the asymptotic density $\mathsf{d}$. We show, for instance, that there exists a maximal $\mathsf{d}$-independent family $\mathcal{A}$ such that $\mathsf{d}[\mathcal{A}]$ attains a prescribed set of values in $(0,1)$ with at most countably many exceptions. In addition, under $\mathrm{cov}(\mathcal{N})=\mathfrak{c}$, it is possible to construct such $\mathcal{A}$ with no exceptions. We also construct $2^{\mathfrak{c}}$ maximal $\mathsf{d}$-independent families with pairwise distinct generated density fields and obtain maximal families with strong definability pathologies, including examples without the Baire property and, consistently, nonmeasurable examples.

22 pages, comments are welcome