DOI: 10.1017/bsl.2026.10173 ISSN: 1079-8986

APPROXIMATION THEORY AND ELEMENTARY SUBMODELS

SEAN COX

Abstract

Approximation Theory uses nicely-behaved subcategories to understand entire categories, just as projective modules are used to approximate arbitrary modules in classical homological algebra. We use set-theoretic elementary submodel arguments to give new, short proofs of well-known theorems in approximation theory, sometimes with stronger results.