We construct a non-free but א1-separable, torsion-free abelian group G with a pure free subgroup B such that all subgroups of G disjoint from B are free and such that G/B is divisible. This answers a question of Irwin and shows that a theorem of Blass and Irwin cannot be strengthened so as to give an exact analog for torsion-free groups of a result proved for p-groups by Benabdallah and Irwin.

In this paper we complete the characterization of Ext(G, Z) for any torsion-free abelian group G assuming Gödel’s axiom of constructibility plus there is no weakly compact cardinal. In particular, we prove in (V = L) that, for a singular cardinal ν of uncountable cofinality which is less than the first weakly compact cardinal and for every sequence of cardinals (νp : p ∈ Π) satisfying νp ≤ 2 , ...