Codensity monads are ubiquitous, as are various different notions of compactness and finiteness. Two such examples of "compact" spaces are compact Hausdorff Spaces and Linearly Compact Vector Spaces. Compact Hausdorff Spaces are the algebras of the codensity monad induced by the inclusion of finite sets in the category of sets. Similarly linearly compact vector spaces are the algebras of the codensity monad induced by the inclusion of finite dimensional vector spaces in the category of vector spaces. So in these two examples the notions of finiteness, compactness and codensity are intertwined. In this thesis we generalise these results. To do this we generalise the notion of ultrafilter, and follow the intuition of the compact Hausdorff case. We give definitions of general notions of "finiteness" and "compactness" and show that the algebras for the codensity monad induced by the "finite" objects are exactly the "compact" objects.

O conceito de reflexão em topologia expressa o fato de que um espaço satisfaz uma dada propriedade sempre que esta é satisfeita por seus subespaços \"menores\". Neste trabalho, estuda-se a reflexão de propriedades envolvendo a maioria das principais funções cardinais e metrizabilidade, bem como outras propriedades relacionadas. São discutidos problemas em aberto -- como o problema de Hamburger --, incluindo respostas parciais e exemplos de consistência. Várias dentre as demonstrações apresentadas utilizam técnicas de submodelos elementares, que constituem hoje uma importante ferramenta no estudo de topologia geral. / The concept of reflection in topology expresses the fact that a space satisfies a given property provided that its \"small\" subspaces do. This work presents a study on reflection of properties concerning most of the main cardinal functions and metrizability, as well as other related properties. Open problems --such as Hamburger\'s question-- are also discussed, including partial answers and consistent examples. Several of the proofs presented here make use of elementary submodels, nowadays an important tool in the study of general topology.

O conceito de reflexão em topologia expressa o fato de que um espaço satisfaz uma dada propriedade sempre que esta é satisfeita por seus subespaços \"menores\". Neste trabalho, estuda-se a reflexão de propriedades envolvendo a maioria das principais funções cardinais e metrizabilidade, bem como outras propriedades relacionadas. São discutidos problemas em aberto -- como o problema de Hamburger --, incluindo respostas parciais e exemplos de consistência. Várias dentre as demonstrações apresentadas utilizam técnicas de submodelos elementares, que constituem hoje uma importante ferramenta no estudo de topologia geral. / The concept of reflection in topology expresses the fact that a space satisfies a given property provided that its \"small\" subspaces do. This work presents a study on reflection of properties concerning most of the main cardinal functions and metrizability, as well as other related properties. Open problems --such as Hamburger\'s question-- are also discussed, including partial answers and consistent examples. Several of the proofs presented here make use of elementary submodels, nowadays an important tool in the study of general topology.

Le thème central de la présente thèse est le contenu sémantique des quantificateurs logiques. Dans leur forme la plus simple, les quantificateurs permettent d’établir l’existence, ou la non-existence, d’individus répondant à une propriété. En tant que tels, ils incarnent la richesse et la complexité de la logique du premier ordre, par delà la logique propositionnelle. Nous contribuons à l’analyse sémantique des quantificateurs, du point de vue de la théorie de la dualité, dans trois domaines différents des mathématiques et de l’informatique théorique. D’une part, dans la théorie des langages formels à travers la logique sur les mots. D’autre part, dans la logique intuitionniste propositionnelle et dans l’étude de l’interpolation uniforme. Enfin, dans la topologie catégorique et dans la sémantique catégorique de la logique du premier ordre. / The unifying theme of the thesis is the semantic meaning of logical quantifiers. In their basic form quantifiers allow to state theexistence, or non-existence, of individuals satisfying a property. As such, they encode the richness and the complexity of predicate logic, as opposed to propositional logic. We contribute to the semantic understanding of quantifiers, from the viewpoint of duality theory, in three different areas of mathematics and theoretical computer science. First, in formal language theory through the syntactic approach provided by logic on words. Second, in intuitionistic propositional logic and in the study of uniform interpolation. Third, in categorical topology and categorical semantics for predicate logic.