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Stanislav Jabuka
Notes for Math 440/640
University of Nevada, Reno
Contents
Chapter 1. Continuity and convergence in Euclidean spaces
1.1. Continuity in Euclidean space
1.2. Open and closed subsets of Euclidean space
1.3. Continuity and convergence in terms of open and closed sets
1.4. Some properties of open and closed sets in Euclidean space
1.5. Exercises
5
5
8
9
12
13
15
15
16
25
28
33
37
37
45
50
51
56
61
61
63
65
67
70
76
79
79
85
88
Chapter 6. Compactness
6.1. Denition and rst examples
91
91
3
CONTENTS
6.2.
6.3.
6.4.
6.5.
6.6.
94
98
101
104
105
109
109
114
119
121
123
123
131
134
136
136
136
136
139
139
142
142
142
142
143
CHAPTER 1
his chapter is motivational in nature and provides impetus for the denitions
of a topological space X and a continuous function f : X Y between
two topological spaces X and Y , given in Chapters 2 and 3 respectively.
These denitions are straightforward but upon rst encounter seem ad hoc
and arbitrary. To convey a sense of where they are coming from, in Section 1.1 we
rst examine the familiar setting of continuity of functions f : Rn Rm on Euclidean
spaces in terms of its customary denition in the , language from analysis. In Section
1.2 we introduce two families of special subsets of Rn , the open and closed subsets. The
discussion of this chapter culminates in Section 1.3 where we recast continuity in terms
of open and closed subsets of Rn . The main results of this chapter are Theorems 1.3.1
and 1.3.2. The remaining Section 1.4 scrutinizes some properties of open and closed
subsets of Rn .
1.1. Continuity in Euclidean space
Let R denote the set of real numbers. We dene intervals in R as any of the subsets
of R of the form
[a, b] = {x R | a x b},
[a, b = {x R | a x < b},
a, b] = {x R | a < x b},
a, b = {x R | a < x < b}.
The rst of these are referred to as segments or closed intervals, the last in turn are
called open intervals.
The n-dimensional Euclidean space Rn is dened as the set of ordered n-tuples of
real numbers:
Rn = {(x1 , ..., xn ) | xi R },
where, as usual, the symbol R denotes the set of real numbers. We will adopt the
convention of denoting the n-tuple (x1 , ..., xn ) simply by x, the n-tuple (y1 , ..., yn ) by
y, etc. Two elements x = (x1 , ..., xn ) and y = (y1 , ..., yn ) from Rn can be added to each
other and each can be multiplied by a real number R in the familiar ways:
x + y = (x1 + y1 , ..., xn + yn )
and
x = ( x1 , ..., xn ),
Definition 1.1.1. For a real number p 1 and for p = , we dene the functions
dp : Rn Rn [0, as
1
(|x1 y1 |p + ... + |xn yn |p ) p
; if p =
(1.1)
dp (x, y) =
and
3
4
3
4
4
3
(x1 y1 )2 + + (xn yn )2 .
1
B(0,0) (1)
2
B(0,0) (1) = B(0,0) (1)
B(0,0) (1)
p
Figure 1. Examples of the open balls B(0,0) (1) R2 for p = 1, 2, .
The dotted lines indicate that the boundaries of these shapes are not
part of the balls.
Bf (x) ()
f (x)
Bx ()
Rn
Rm
The following two theorems are standard results discussed in any introductory
analysis course, their proofs are omitted.
Theorem 1.1.5. Let f : Rn Rm be a function and x Rn be any point. Then f
is continuous at x if and only if for every sequence {xk }k Rn that converges to x in
Rn , the sequence {yk }k with yk = f (xk ), converges to y = f (x) in Rm . Said dierently,
f is continuous at x if and only if it commutes with the limit symbol lim when applied
to any sequence {xk }k with limit x:
f
10
V
Bf (x) ()
Bx ()
x
Rn
Rm
11
f
V = Bf (x) ()
U
Bx ()
x
Rn
Rm
12
X (iI Ui ) = iI (X Ui )
1.5. EXERCISES
13
1
i
1.5. Exercises
1.5.1. Determine if the following subsets of R are open, closed or neither:
(a) [0, 1 1, 2].
(b) Q.
(c) nZ [2n, 2n + 1].
(d) The Cantor set C. (The Cantor set C is obtained from [0, 1] by dividing it into 3
segments of equal length, and removing the middle open interval 1 , 2 . In the
3 3
2
remaining union of two segments [0, 1 ] 3 , 1], each is divided into 3 segments of
3
equal length, and from each the middle open interval is again removed so as to
1
obtain[0, 1 ] [ 2 , 3 ] [ 2 , 7 ] [ 7 , 1]. The Cantor set is obtained by continuing this
9
9
3 9
9
process ad innitum. Thus at each stage, one divides each remaining segment
into 3 segments of equal length, and removes the open middle interval. See
Figure 5 for the rst several iteration of this construction.)
C1 = [0, 1]
1
C2 = [0, 3 ] [ 2 , 1]
3
1
2
8
C3 = [0, 9 ] [ 2 , 1 ] [ 3 , 7 ] [ 9 , 1]
9 3
9
1
2
C4 = [0, 27 ] [ 27 , 1 ] [ 8 , 25 ] [ 26 , 1]
9
9 27
27
1
2 1
C5 = [0, 81 ] [ 81 , 27 ] [ 26 , 79 ] [ 80 , 1]
27 81
81
14
CHAPTER 2
Topological spaces
16
2. TOPOLOGICAL SPACES
Given a topological space (X, T ) we shall often simply write X when the topology
T is understood from context, and refer to X as a topological space. On the other
hand, when several topological spaces are involved in a discussion, we may label the
topology T by TX to indicate that it belongs with X. For example, we shall write
(X, TX ) or (Y, TY ) to label topological spaces.
The notion of open and closed subset of a topological space X shall be crucial to
all subsequent chapters. Whether or not a given subset A X is open or not, depends
on the choice of a topology T on X. As we shall see in the examples below, a set X
admits many dierent topologies and a subset A X may be open with respect to
some but not with respect to other topologies. The most common misconception about
open and closed sets among novices, is the notion that they form a dichotomy.
Remark 2.1.2. In a topological space X, the notions of open subsetand closed
subsetdo not form a dichotomy. That is, the failure of a subset A X to be open
does not typically imply that A is closed. Conversely, the failure of A to be closed does
not typically render it open. Typically, a topological space has numerous subsets that
are neither open nor closed, but can also have subsets that are both open and closed.
The empty set and all of X are examples of the latter.
Definition 2.1.3. Given a set X and two topologies T1 and T2 on X, we say that
T1 is ner than T2 or, equivalently, that T2 is coarser than T1 , if T2 T1 . We shall
write T2 T1 to denote this relation between the two topologies. As usual, we shall
write T2 < T1 to indicate that T2 T1 and T2 = T1 .
The relation gives the set of all topologies on X a partial ordering in that
T1 T2 and T2 T1 imply T1 = T2 . Likewise, T1 T2 and T2 T3 imply T1 T3 .
However, given two topologies T1 and T2 on X, neither of T1 T2 or T2 T1 has to
necessarily hold.
Before exploring properties of open and closed subsets of a topological space X,
we turn to examine several examples of topological spaces. We recommend that the
reader not skip this next section, it will be used as a testing ground for many of the
concepts touched upon in later chapters.
2.2. Examples of topological spaces
This section is devoted to exploring some of the many examples of topological
spaces. Example 2.2.4 below shows that every set X can be equipped with a topology,
exhibiting that topological spaces are indeed very common animals in the jungle of
mathematics. Examples 2.2.1 2.2.3 discussing the Euclidean, the subspace and the
metric topology, are particularly relevant as they make frequent appearances throughout the text.
Example 2.2.1. The Euclidean topology Work from Chapter 1 shows that the
Euclidean space Rn becomes a topological space when equipped with the topology TEu ,
henceforth referred to as the Euclidean topology, dened as
TEu = {U Rn | x U r > 0 such that Bx (r) U }.
17
Recall that Bx (r) denotes the open ball {y Rn | d2 (x, y) < r} from Denition 1.1.1.
With this denition of TEu , the verication of the three axioms of topology is provided
courtesy of Theorem 1.4.1.
Example 2.2.2. The relative or subspace topology. Let (X, T ) be a given
topological space and let A be a subset of X. Then A automatically inherits the
structure of a topological space from X by equipping it with the relative topology or
subspace topology TA dened as:
TA = {U A | U T }
We call the topological space (A, TA ) a subspace of X. Saying that A is a subspace of
Xmeans that we have given the subset A of X the subspace topology.
It is quite straightforward to verify that TA satises the axioms of a topology on A:
1. Since , X T then A = and X A = A belong to TA .
2. Let Ui TA , i I be given and set U = iI Ui . For each Ui there exists a
Vi T such that Ui = Vi A. But then U = V A where V = iI Vi T
showing that U TA .
3. Let U1 , ..., Un TA and nd sets V1 , ..., Vn T such that Ui = Vi A. Then the
set U = U1 ... Un equals V A where V = V1 ... Vn T and is therefore
contained in TA .
The subspace topology gives us immediately a myriad of examples of topological
spaces by applying it to various subsets of (Rn , TEu ) from the previous example. For
instance, each of
the n-sphere
the graph of f : Rn Rm
the 2-dimensional torus
becomes a topological space with the relative Euclidean topology. In the denition of
T 2 , the symbol x was used to denote the ordered quadruple (x1 , x2 , x3 , x4 ).
Example 2.2.3. Metric spaces. A metric space is a pair (X, d) consisting of a
non-empty set X and a function d : X X [0, , referred to as the metric on X,
that is subject to the next three axioms of a metric:
1. d(x, y) = 0 if and only if x = y.
2. Symmetry: d(x, y) = d(y, x) for all x, y X.
3. Triangle inequality: d(x, z) d(x, y) + d(y, z) for all x, y, z X.
When the metric d is understood from context, we will call X itself a metric space. In
analogy to the case of the Euclidean metric d2 on Rn , here too we can dene what we
shall again call the open ball with center x U and radius r > 0 as
Bx (r) = {y X | d(x, y) < r}.
Every metric space (X, d) comes equipped with a natural choice of topology Td , called
the metric topology, dened by
Td = {U X | p U r > 0 such that Bp (r) U }.
18
2. TOPOLOGICAL SPACES
The reader will have noticed that this denition agrees with the denition of the Euclidean topology from Example 2.2.1. Indeed, the premier examples of metric spaces
are (Rn , dp ) with p [1, {} (with dp as given in Denition 1.1.1). The verication of the axioms of a metric for dp is deferred to Exercise 2.5.6. The fact that Td is
indeed a topology on X follows exactly as in proof of Theorem 1.4.1 for the Euclidean
space. Indeed, the proof of the latter never uses the fact that it deals with (Rn , d2 )
explicitly.
We shall encounter more about metric spaces in later chapters and so for now
we limit ourselves to only one additional example. Consider the segment [a, b] R
and let X = C 0 ([a, b], R) be the set of continuous functions f : [a, b] R. Dene
d : X X [0, as
b
d(f, g) =
a
Then (X, d) is a metric space and thus becomes a topological space. The second
and third axiom of a metric are readily veried (and their verication does not use
continuity of the functions involved):
b
|f (t) g(t)| dt =
d(f, g) =
a
|f (t) h(t)| dt
d(f, h) =
a
b
=
a
b
|f (t) g(t)| dt +
=
a
|g(t) h(t)| dt
a
= d(f, g) + d(g, h)
The demonstration of axiom 1 of a metric is left for Exercise 2.5.1.
Example 2.2.4. The discrete and indiscrete topologies. Every set X always
admits topologies. Namely, every set can be made into a topological space by choosing
either the indiscrete topology Tindis (also referred to as the trivial topology) or the
discrete topology Tdis dened as
Tindis = {, X},
Tdis = {A | A X}.
Thus Tindis only contains the empty set and all of X and is therefore the smallest
possible topology on X (according to the rst axiom of a topology) while Tdis equals the
entire power set of X and is consequently the largest topology on X. In the notation of
19
Denition 2.1.3, any topology T on X satises the double inequality Tindis T Tdis .
The axioms of a topology are trivially true for Tindis and Tdis .
These two extreme topologies on X do not lead to interesting topological properties.
For example, as we shall see in Chapter 3, every function on (X, Tdis ) is continuous.
Fertile ground for topological exploration lies with those topologies that live between
these two extremes.
Example 2.2.5. Topologies on nite sets. On nite sets, topologies are by
necessity also nite and can be listed by simply listing their elements. For instance, if
X = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, then each of the following is a topology on X (Exercise 2.5.2):
(a) T1 = {, X, {1, 2}, {3, 4, 5}}
(b) T2 = {, X, {1}, {2}, {1, 2}}
(c) T3 = {, X, {1, 2, 3}, {2, 3, 4}, {2, 3}, {1, 2, 3, 4}}
(d) T4 = {, X, {1}, {2}, {3}, {1, 2}, {2, 3}, {1, 3}, {1, 2, 3}}
Example 2.2.6. Included point topology. Let X be any non-empty set and let
p X be an arbitrary point. We dene the included point topology on X as
Tp = {U X | U is the empty set, or p U }.
To see that (X, Tp ) is a topological space, we need to verify the axioms of topology for
Tp from Denition 2.1.1.
1. Clearly Tp be denition. Also, X Tp since p X.
2. Let Ui Tp with i I where I is any indexing set and let U = iI Ui . If each
Ui is the empty set then so is U and is therefore contained in Tp . If at least one
set Ui is not empty, then p Ui and thus p U showing again that U Tp . So
in either case U must belong to Tp .
3. Let U1 , ..., Un Tp and let V = n Ui . If even one of U1 , ..., Un is empty then
i=1
V is empty as well and thus a member of Tp . If none of U1 , ..., Un is empty then
they each must contain p and therefore V must contain p as well. So in this
case V is also in Tp .
Example 2.2.7. The excluded point topology. Let X again be any non-empty
set and, as in the previous example, pick an arbitrary point p X. The excluded point
topology T p on X is then dened to be
T p = {U X | U equals X, or p (X U )}.
Lets verify the axioms of a topology:
1. X belongs to T p be denition and belongs to T p since p .
/
2. Let Ui T p , i I and set U = iI Ui . If at least one Ui equals X then U = X
and so U T p . If none of the Ui equals X then no Ui can contain p and so p
cannot be contained in U either. Thus, in this case too, we get U T p .
3. Take U1 , ..., Un T p and let V = U1 ... Un . If all of the set Ui happen to
equal X then so does V and is thus automatically contained in T p . Conversely,
if there is at least one Ui not equal to X then that particular Ui cannot contain
20
2. TOPOLOGICAL SPACES
p and consequently neither can V . Thus, in this case too, V is again an element
of T p .
See Exercise 2.5.3 for a generalization of the included/excluded point topology.
Definition 2.2.8. Let X be any non-empty set. A partition P on X is a collection
of subsets of X such that
1. If A, B P are two distinct elements of P then A B = .
2. The elements of P cover all of X: AP A = X.
Thus a partition P is a way of dividing all of X into mutually disjoint set. The partition
P = {X} consisting of only X shall be referred to as the trivial partition.
Examples of partitions abound. For instance, if we take X = R, then
P1 = {[a, a + 1 | a Z},
P2 = {Q, R Q},
(2.1)
P3 = {x + Z | x , + 1]},
with
L = kK Jk I
with
L = n Jk I
k=1
or
X U is a nite set }.
21
If X is itself a nite set then the nite complement topology agrees with the discrete
topology (from Example 2.2.4) but if X is innite, Tf c and Tdis are rather dierent
topologies. We leave the verication of the axioms of topology for Tf c for Exercise
2.5.8.
Example 2.2.11. The countable complement topology. The countable complement topology Tcc on a set X is dene as
Tcc = {U X | U =
or
X U is a countable set }.
Note that if X is itself countable then Tcc agrees with the discrete topology Tdis on X.
However, for example on X = R, the two topologies are dierent. The axioms of a
topology for this example are addressed in Exercise 2.5.8.
Example 2.2.12. The Fort topology. This example is obtained by combining
the excluded point topology with the nite complement topology from above. Assume
that X is an innite set and let p X be an arbitrary point. We then dene the Fort
topology TF ,p as
TF ,p = {U X | Either X U is nite or p U }.
/
We turn to the verication of the axioms of a topology.
1. Since p and since X X is a nite set, we nd that , X TF ,p .
/
2. Let Ui TF ,p , i I be a family of sets in this topology and set U = iI Ui .
To see that U too must belong to TF ,p we must consider two cases separately.
Firstly, suppose that none of the sets Ui contains p. In this case U doesnt
contain p either and so U TF ,p . In the second case, suppose that at least one
Ui contains p (and therefore U must also contain p). This particular Ui then
has to have nite complement X Ui . Since X U X Ui (this follows
for example from DeMorgans laws (1.2)) we see that X U is also nite and
therefore that U TF ,p .
3. Left as an exercise (Exercise 2.5.9).
For instance, choosing X = R and p = 0, the closed sets of the Fort topology TF ,0
are all nite subsets of R and all subsets of R that contain 0.
Example 2.2.13. The order topology In this example we suppose that the set
X is equipped with an ordering , a notion which we briey review before dening
the associated order topology T .
Recall than a relation r on X is simply a subset of X X. It is customary to write
xry if (x, y) r. A typical choice for the name of a relation is a relation symbol,
such as , , , etc. For example, if we called a relation then we would write
x y to indicate that (x, y) belongs to this relation.
A (total) ordering on X is a relation on X subject to the conditions
1. is reexive: x x for any x X.
2. is antisymmetric: If x y and y x then x = y.
3. is transitive: If x y and y z then x z.
22
2. TOPOLOGICAL SPACES
and
Rx = {z X | x < z}.
or,
or,
or,
or,
23
Figure 1. The shaded region in R2 represents the interval (0, 0), (1, 0)
in the order topology on R2 associated to the lexicographic ordering. The
dotted lines are not part of the region while the full lines are. The region
extends innitely vertically in both directions.
Example 2.2.14. The lower and upper limit topologies on R. The lower-limit
topology Tll on R is dened as
Tll = {U X | U is obtained by taking unions of nite intersections of
sets [a, b with a, b R}.
The denition of Tll shows that it is closed under nite intersections and arbitrary
unions while the empty set and R belong to Tll because, for example, = [0, 1 [3, 5
and R = aZ [a, a + 1 . Thus, Tll is indeed a topology.
The upper limit topology Tul on R is dened analogously by replacing the sets [a, b
in the denition of Tll by the sets a, b].
Notice that the open intervals a, b belong both to Tll and to Tul since, for example,
a, b =
a+
n
1
,b
n
Tll .
The starting value of n in the above union is chosen large enough so that a + 1/n < b.
From this observation it is not hard to show that TEu Tll and TEu Tul . However,
the set [0, 1 belong to Tll but not to TEu showing that TEu = Tll . A similar observation
applies to the upper limit topology.
Example 2.2.15. The topologists sine curve. This example and the two subsequent ones, do not dene new types of topologies, but rather look at subspaces of
(R2 , TEu ) (see Examples 2.2.1 and 2.2.2) with certain special properties that shall be
explored in later chapters.
24
2. TOPOLOGICAL SPACES
1
(a)
...
.
.
.
(b)
(c)
Figure 2. (a) The topologists sine curve. (b) The innite broom. (c)
The Hawaiian earrings.
Example 2.2.16. The innite broom. Let In R2 be the closed straight-line
segment joining the origin (0, 0) to the point (1, 1/n) for n N. The innite broom is
the subspace X of (Rn , TEu ) dened by (see Figure 2b)
X = ( In ) ([0, 1] {0}).
n=1
25
(a) The interior A of A is an open set and it is the largest open set contained in
(b) The closure A of A is a closed set and it is the smallest closed set containing
union which denes A and is thus contained in A, showing that the interior of A is the
largest open set contained in A. If A = A then clearly A must be open since A is open.
Conversely, if A is open then it is clearly the largest open set containing A and thus
by necessity equal to A.
A and hence A B. This shows that A is the smallest closed set containing A. If
A = A then A is closed, since A is. If A is closed then A itself is the smallest closed
26
2. TOPOLOGICAL SPACES
A A A,
hold for every subset A of X while Lemma 2.3.2 shows that A is always an open set
is always a closed set. It is in this sense that A can be approximated by both
and A
an open set (its interior) and a closed set (its closure). How good an approximation of
A, the closure A and the boundary A of A with respect to the following choices of
topologies on R:
1. The Euclidean topology (Example 2.2.1). With this toplogy A itself is open
and so, by Lemma 2.3.2, the interior of A equals A itself. The closure of A is
a closed set cointaining A. We guess that A = [0, 1]. Indeed, [0, 1] is closed
and contains A and the only smaller subsets cotaining A are [0, 1 , 0, 1] and A
itself, neither of which is closed. Thus
A = A = 0, 1 ,
A = [0, 1],
A = {0, 1},
a result which conrms our Euclidean intuition.
2. The included point topology with p = 0 (Example 2.2.6). Since p A we see
/
= A. On the other hand, the only open set
that A is in fact closed so that A
A = ,
A = A = 0, 1 ,
A = A = 0, 1 .
3. The included point topology with p = 1/2 (Example 2.2.6). Since p A we see
A = A = 0, 1 ,
A = R,
A = , 0] [1, .
4. The nite complement topology (Example 2.2.10). In this topology, closed set
are nite subsets of R and all of R. This makes is clear that A = R. No subset
= . In summary
of A has nite complement showing that A
A = ,
A = R,
A = R.
The next lemma provides an alternative denition of the boundary A.
Lemma 2.3.4. Let X be a topological space and let A be a subset of X. Then
(a) X A = X A.
(b) Int(X A) = X A.
X A.
(c) A = A
27
Proof. (a) By denition, the closure of X A is the intersection of all closed sets
containing X A:
X A = BB B
with
A = CC C.
An applicatioin of DeMorgans laws 1.2 yields the desired result:
X A = BB B = CC (X C) = X CC C = X A.
(b) This part follows in much the same way as part (a). Namely, let now B be the
family of closed set containing A and C be the family of open sets contained in X A.
As before, there is a bijective correspondence B C by sending B to X B. Using
again DeMorgans law nishes the proof:
Int(X A) = CC C = BB (X B) = X BB B = X A.
(c) This follows easily from part (a) of the present theorem:
A = A A = A (X A) = A X A.
28
2. TOPOLOGICAL SPACES
Example 2.3.8. The set Q of rational number is dense in (R, TEu ) since it intersects
every open interval a, b and every open set is a union of open intervals. More generally,
by the same principle, Qn is dense in (Rn , TEu ). Consequently, since Qn is a countable
set for each n 0, (Rn , TEu ) is a separable topological space for all n 0.
Example 2.3.9. Consider the discrete topology Tdis on R (Example 2.2.4). In this
29
The indexing set LU from (b) above, is of course allowed to be innite. While we will
typically start out with a topological space (X, T ) and then seek bases and subbases
for T , it is meaningful to ask about going the other way. That is, given a set X and
two collections B, S of subsets of X, under what conditions are B and S a basis and a
subbasis for some topology T . The next two lemmas address this question.
Lemma 2.4.2. A collection B of subsets of a set X is a basis for some topology T
if and only if B has the properties
(a) X = BB B.
(b) For every B1 , B2 B and every point x B1 B2 , there exists an element
B3 B such that x B3 B1 B2 .
If these two conditions are met, the topology T generated by B consists of all possible
unions of elements from B:
T = {U X | U is a union of sets from B}.
Proof. One implication of the lemma is immediate. Namely, if B is a basis for the
topology T then, since X T , it must be that X = BB B. Likewise, if B1 , B2 B,
then B1 B2 is an open set and therefore a union of elements from B.
Lets turn to the other implication. We assume that B is a collection of subsets of
X subject to conditions (a) and (b) from the lemma and let T be the set
T = {U X | U is a union of elements from B}.
It is then clear that X T (by condition (a)) and T (the empty set is the empty
union of any sets). By denition of T , it is obviously closed under unions since unions of
unions are again just unions. To see that T is closed under nite intersection it suces
to show that it is closed under twofold intersections. Thus, let U1 , U2 T , we need to
show that U1 U2 is a union of elements from B. Let x U1 U2 be any point. By
denition of T , there must exist elements B1 , B2 B with x Bi Ui , i = 1, 2. But
then by property (b), there is an element Bx B such that x Bx B1 B2 U1 U2 .
But then clearly
U1 U2 =
Bx ,
xU1 U2
30
2. TOPOLOGICAL SPACES
showing that T is a topology. Likewise, the fact S is a subbasis of T also follows from
the denition.
Lemmas 2.4.2 and 2.4.3 give us ways to dene topologies on a set X by either
picking a basis or a subbasis rst and letting them generate the topology. Here are a
few examples.
Example 2.4.4. The sets
B1 = { a, b | a, b R, a < b},
S1 = { , b , a, | a, b R},
are a basis and subbasis for (R, TEu ) (recall that TEu denotes the Euclidean topology
on R). Similarly, by relying on the density of the rational numbers Q in R, one can
show that
B2 = { a, b | a, b Q, a < b},
S2 = { , b , a, | a, b Q},
are also a basis and a subbasis for (R, TEu ). The key dierence between the two
examples is that the sets B2 and S2 are countable sets while both of B1 and S1 are
uncountable.
Example 2.4.5. Consider the included point topology Tp on R (Example 2.2.6).
The sets {p} and {x, p}, for any x R, are open sets. However, neither {p} nor {x, p}
can be obtained as a union of other nonempty open sets and must therefore be part of
every basis B. Accordingly, every basis B for (R, Tp ) has uncountably many elements.
The smallest possible basis for (R, Tp ) is
B = {{p}, {x, p} | x R {p}}.
Example 2.4.6. Let (X, ) be an ordered set and consider the order topology T
on X (Example 2.2.13). Then a basis and a subbasis for (X, T ) are given by
B = { a, b | a, b X, a < b}
and
S = {La , Rb | a, b X}.
In the case of X = R and with being the usual ordering of real numbers, these two
sets agree with B1 and S1 from Example 2.4.4.
Example 2.4.7. Consider the set R and let S be the collection of subsets of R
given by
S = {x + Q+ , y + Q | x, y R},
where Q+ and Q are the sets of the positive and of the negative rational numbers
respectively. According to Lemma 2.4.3, S is a subbasis for a topology TS on R. An
example of an open set in this topology is 1, 1 Q.
Just as vector spaces are divided into nite dimensional and innite dimensional
examples according to whether or not they possess a nite basis or not, so too topological spaces can be group into two distinct categories. The rst attempt to dene the
31
analogue of a nite dimensional vector space for topological spaces, might be to demand the existence of nite basis for the topology. However, since a topology generated
by a nite basis is by necessity nite, this denition would exclude most interesting
examples (for instance, no Euclidean space (Rn , TEu ) with n 1 admits a nite basis).
Instead, we will divide topological spaces into two categories according to whether or
not they possess a countable basis or not.
Definition 2.4.8. A topological space (X, T ) is called second countable if it possesses a countable basis B.
We should think of a second countable topological space as being small and of
one that isnt second countable, as being large. Another measure of size for a
topological space we encountered previously was that of being separable (Denition
2.3.5). The next lemma explicates the relation between the two.
Lemma 2.4.9. A second countable topological space is separable. The converse is
false in general (Example 2.4.10).
Proof. Let B = {Ui | i N} be a countable basis for the second countable topological space (X, T ). Without loss of generality we can assume that Ui = for any
i N. Let ai Ui be any element and let A = {ai | i N} X. Then A is a countable
set and we claim that A = X. For if U X is any nonempty open set then there exists
some j N with Uj U . But then A U is nonempty (as it contains aj ) showing that
A is dense according to Corollary 2.3.7.
Example 2.4.4 shows that the Euclidean space (R, TEu ) is second countable while
Example 2.4.5 shows that (R, Tp ) is not second countable.
Example 2.4.10. We just saw that the set of real numbers R with the included
point topology Tp isnt a second countable space. On the other hand, let A = {p} R
and notice that A = R (since closed sets in this topology are sets either not containing
p or else all of R). Thus (R, Tp ) is separable.
We nish this section by considering a local version of the notion of second countability.
Definition 2.4.11. Let (X, T ) be a topological space and let x X be a point in
X. A neighborhood basis around x is a collection Bx of neighborhoods of x such that
for every neighborhood U of x there is an element V Bx with x V U . We say
that (X, T ) is rst countable if every point x X possesses a countable neighborhood
basis.
It should be clear that a second countable space is automatically rst countable.
The converse is false as the next example demonstrates.
32
2. TOPOLOGICAL SPACES
Example 2.4.12. Consider the space (R, Tp ) where Tp is the included point topology
(example 2.2.6) and let x R be any point. A neighborhood basis Bx for x is given by
; if x = p
{{p}}
Bx =
{{x, p}}
; if x = p
Thus (R, Tp ) is rst countable but it isnt second countable according to Example 2.4.5.
Example 2.4.13. The real number line R with the nite complement topology
Tf c (Example 2.2.10) is not rst countable. For suppose that Bp = {Ui | i N} were a
countable neighborhood basis at some point p R, with Ui = R{ai , . . . , ai i } for some
1
n
ai , . . . , ai i R {p} and some ni N. Additionally, let A = iN {ai , . . . , ai i } and
n
n
1
1
note that A is a countable set, and hence that R A is innite. For any neighborhood
V = R {b1 , ..., bn } of p there would have to be some i N with Ui V , that is
with {b1 , . . . , bn } {ai , . . . , ai i } A. A contradiction is obtained by simply choosing
1
n
elements bj from R (A {p}), showing that p has no countable neighborhood basis.
Compare to Exercise 2.5.22.
Example 2.4.14. A metric space (X, d) equipped with the metric topology Td
(Example 2.2.3) is always rst countable. Namely, given a point x X we can dene
Bx as
Bx = {Bx (r) | r Q+ }.
where, as before, Q+ is the set of positive rational number. Clearly Bx is a countable
set and if U is any neighborhood of x, then there must exist some real number r > 0
such that Bx (r) U . Taking any r 0, r Q gives an element Bx (r ) Bx with
x Bx (r ) Bx (r).
We saw that second countability and separability are generally two distinct measures for the size of a topology (Lemma 2.4.9). However, for metric spaces, these two
notions agree. The reason for this lies in the rst countability.
Proposition 2.4.15. A metric space (X, d) equipped with the metric topology Td
is separable precisely when it is second countable.
Proof. Let A = {ai | i N} be a countable dense subset of X and for each ai A
let Bi = {Bai (r) | r Q+ } be a countable neighborhood basis for ai . Let B = Bi .
i=1
Since B is a countable union of countable sets, it is itself a countable set. To see that B
is a basis for (X, T ), let U X be an open set and let x U be any point. There has to
exist a rational number r > 0 such that Bx (r) U (be denition of Td , Example 2.2.3).
Consider the open set Bx (r/2). By Corollary 2.3.7 the intersection A Bx (r/2) has to
be nonempty and so without loss of generality we can suppose that a1 A Bx (r/2).
But then x Ba1 (r/2) since a1 Bx (r/2), and additionally Ba1 (r/2) Bx (r) for if
y Ba1 (r/2) then d(y, x) d(y, a1 ) + d(a1 , x) < r/2 + r/2 = r. Since Ba1 (r/2) B,
we have shown that for every point x U there is a set Ux B with x Ux U .
Therefore U = xU Ux showing that B is a basis.
2.5. EXERCISES
33
Remark 2.4.16. It is not true in general that a separable and rst countable space
is second countable (Exercise 2.5.24).
Definition 2.4.17. We say that a topological space (X, T ) is metrizable if there is
a metric on X whose associated metric topology agrees with T .
Proposition 2.4.15 and the observation from Example 2.4.14 can be used to nd
rst examples of non-metrizable topologies (see Section 9.2 for more on metrizability).
For instance, the space (R, Tp ) is not metrizable as according to Example 2.4.10 it is
separable but not second countable (note however that it is a rst countable space
according to Example 2.4.12). Similarly, (R, Tf c ) is not metrizable as it is not rst
countable according to Example 2.4.13.
Theorem 2.4.18. Let (X, TX ) be a topological space and let Y X be a subspace
of X. If X is either second countable or rst countable, then so is Y . Separability of
X does not in general imply separability of Y .
Proof. Suppose that X is second countable and let B = {Ui | i N} be a basis
for the topology on X. Then BY = {Ui Y | i N} is a countable basis for the relative
topology on Y . To see this, let V Y be an open set in Y and let U be an open set in
X such that V = U Y . Since B is a basis for the topology on X, then U = iM Ui
for some subset M N. Thus V = iM (Ui Y ) proving the claim.
The case of rst countability follows analogously. For a topological space showing
that separability is not necessarily inherited by a subspace, see Example 2.4.19.
Example 2.4.19. Consider the included point topology Tp on X = R. This is a
separable space with a dense subset given by {p}. Let Y = R {p} be given the
subspace topology. Since the closed sets in X are those not containing p and X itself,
it follows that the closed subsets of Y are all subsets of Y . Accordingly, A = A for
any A Y . Thus the only dense subset of Y is Y itself. Since Y is not countable, it
follows that it is not separable.
2.5. Exercises
2.5.1. Verify axiom 1 for the metric d(f, g) =
b
a
34
2. TOPOLOGICAL SPACES
for all x, y X.
(a) Show that the notion of equivalence between metrics on a set X is an equivalence
relation.
(b) Show that equivalent metrics induce the same metric topology, that is show
that if d and d are equivalent metrics, then Td = Td (Example 2.2.3).
(c) Show that for any pair p, p [1, {}, the two metrics dp and dp (Denition 1.1.1) are equivalent metrics on Rn . Conclude that all of the metrics dp ,
p [1, {} induce the Euclidean topology on Rn (Hint: Prove that for
any p [1, , the double inequality
1
dp (x, y) d (x, y) dp (x, y)
p
n
holds for all x, y Rn , and use parts (a) and (b) of the exercise.).
2.5.8. Show that the nite complement topology Tf c and the countable complement topology Tcc from Examples 2.2.10 and 2.2.11, satisfy the axioms of a topology
(Denition 2.1.1).
2.5.9. Verify axiom 3 of a topology (Denition 2.1.1) for the Fort topology TF ,p
from Example 2.2.12.
2.5.10. Show that X belongs to the order topology T from Example 2.2.13, by
showing that X = Lx Ry for a pair of elements x, y X with y < x.
2.5.11. For the topological space (X, T ), determine the interior, closure and boundary of the given subset A X.
2.5. EXERCISES
35
36
2. TOPOLOGICAL SPACES
CHAPTER 3
38
39
The next theorem provides alternative denitions of continuity. Part (a) is a generalization of Theorem 1.3.2 from the Euclidean case to general topological spaces.
Theorem 3.1.9. Let f : (X, TX ) (Y, TY ) be a function between two topological
spaces. Then f is continuous if and only if any of the mutually equivalent conditions
below is met:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
Proof. We will show that properties (a) and (e) are each equivalent to f being
continuous. We will then prove the implications (a)=(b)=(c)=(a). Showing that
(d) is equivalent to the continuity of f is left as an exercise (Exercise 3.5.6).
(a) Suppose that f is continuous and let B Y be a closed set. Then f 1 (B) =
X f 1 (Y B) is also closed since Y B is open and continuity of f forces f 1 (Y B)
to be open.
Conversely, suppose that f has property (a) and let V Y be any open set. Then
1
f (V ) = X f 1 (Y V ) is open since Y V and f 1 (Y V ) are both closed, the
latter by property (a).
By property (a) of f , the set f 1 (B) is closed but since the set f 1 (B) is the smallest
1
closed set containing f (B) (see Lemma 2.3.2), the inclusion f 1 (B) f 1 (B) is
immediate.
(b)=(c) Take A X to be any subset of X and apply property (b) of f to
B = f (A) to obtain f 1 (f (A)) f 1 (f (A)). Since A f 1 (f (A)) we also get
Then, according to property (c) we must have f (x) f (A) = B = B showing that
= A and thus that A is closed.
x A. This implies that A
(e) The necessity of property (e) for a continuous function is obvious. Suppose then
that f possesses property (e) and let V Y be an open set. Let J I be such that
V = jJ Vj . Then f 1 (V ) = f 1 (jJ Vj ) = jJ f 1 (Vj ) showing that f 1 (V ) is a
union of open sets and therefore open.
The reader may have noticed that parts (b), (c) and (d) of Theorem 3.1.9 express
continuity in terms of an image/preimage under f , combined with a choice of taking the
interior/closure of a set, see Table 3.1. Of the four possible combinations resulting in
this manner, one is noticeably absent, namely the one involving taking images under f
combined with taking interiors of set. The next example demonstrates that this fourth
possibility cannot be added to Theorem 3.1.9.
40
Preimage Image
Closure
(b)
(c)
Interior
(d)
?
Table 1. Conditions (b), (c) and (d) from Theorem 3.1.9 each involve
a combination of taking an image/preimage under f and taking the closure/interior of a set.
Example 3.1.10. Consider the function f : R2 R given by f (x, y) = x where
each of R2 and R are equipped with the Euclidean topology. Then f is clearly continuous, but, taking A = {(x, 0) R2 | x R}, we nd that
Int(f (A) = Int(R) = R
while
f (Int(A)) = f () = .
Thus the inclusion Int(f (A) f (Int(A)) fails in general for continuous functions.
On the other hand, consider the function g : R R given by g(x) = 0 and assume
that both copies of R come with the Euclidean topology. Pick B = R, then
g(Int(B)) = g(R) = {0}
while
Int(g(B)) = Int({0}) = .
We see that the inclusion g(Int(B)) Int(g(B)) also fails in general for continuous
functions (see however part (a) of Proposition 3.1.22 below).
We next single out some simple functions that are always continuous. The reader
will no doubt recognize familiar properties of continuous functions from the Euclidean
case.
Proposition 3.1.11. Let X, Y , Z be topological spaces and let f : X Y and
g : Y Z be continuous functions. Additionally, let A X be any subspace of X.
(a) The inclusion function : A X is continuous. In particular, the identity
function id: X X is always continuous.
(b) The composition function g f : X Z is continuous.
(c) The restriction function f |A : A Y is continuous.
(d) Let Ui X, i I, be a collection of open subsets of X such that X = iI Ui
and let h : X Y be a function with h|Ui : Ui Y continuous for each i I.
Then h is continuous.
Proof. (a) For an open subset U X, the preimage 1 (U ) equals U A and is
therefore open in A with respect to its relative topology.
(b) Let W be an open subset of Z. Then V = g 1 (W ) is an open subset of Y and
thus U = f 1 (V ) must be open in X. Since U = f 1 (g 1 (W ) = (g f )1 (W ), the
claim follows.
(c) This follows from parts (a) and (b) since f |A = f where : A X is the
inclusion map.
(d) Set hi = h|Ui and let V Y be an open set. Then h1 (V ) = iI h1 (V ) and,
i
since each h1 (V ) must be open in Ui (in its relative topology), there must be open
i
41
f (x)
g(x)
;
;
x A,
x B,
is continuous.
Proof. Let V Y be any subset of Y . Then
h1 (V ) = (h1 (V ) A) (h1 (V ) B) = f 1 (V ) g 1 (V ).
If A, B are both open, choose V to be open also. Continuity of f and g shows the sets
f 1 (V ) and g 1 (V ) to be open subsets of A and B respectively. Accordingly they are
also open in X since A and B are open subsets of X (part (a) of Exercise 2.5.17). Thus
h1 (V ) is a union of two open sets and hence open, demonstrating the continuity of h.
If A, B are both closed, pick V Y also closed. The same reasoning as in the
previous case (and by relying on part (b) of Exercise 2.5.17) shows that h1 (V ) is a
closed set. Continuity of h now follows from part (a) of Theorem 3.1.9.
Definition 3.1.13. A function f : X Y between topological spaces is called
a homeomorphism if f is a continuous bijection with a continuous inverse function
f 1 : Y X. We say that two topological spaces X and Y are homeomorphic, and
write X Y , if there exists at least one homeomorphism f : X Y .
=
A function f : X Y is called a local homeomorphism if it is surjective and every
point x X has a neighborhood U such that f |U : U f (U ) is a homeomorphism,
where U and f (U ) come equipped with their relative topologies inherited from X and
Y respectively. Two spaces are called locally homeomorphic if there exists at least one
local homeomorphism between them.
Remark 3.1.14. The relation of being homeomorphic to between topological
spaces is an equivalence relation:
1. Reexivity: X X. A homeomorphism from X to X is given by the identity
=
map (see part (a) of Proposition 3.1.11).
2. Symmetry: X Y implies Y X. If f : X Y is a homeomorphism, then
=
=
f 1 : Y X is also a homeomorphism.
3. Transitivity: X Y and Y Z imply X Z. If f : X Y and g : Y Z
=
=
=
are homeomorphisms, then g f : X Z is also a homeomorphism (part (b)
of Proposition 3.1.11).
42
In a similar vein one can also prove that the relation of being locally homeomorphicis
an equivalence relations among topological spaces (Exercise ??).
From an abstract point of view, that is, from a point of view where we disregard
the labels attached to the points of a set, two homeomorphic spaces (X, TX ) and
(Y, TY ) are indistinguishable. For all intents and purposes, two homeomorphic spaces
can be considered as being identical, a practice that we shall adopt from hereon out,
sometimes without specically saying so. To imprint this point further, we turn to a
simple example.
Example 3.1.15. Let the sets X = {1, 2, 3} and Y = {a, b, c} be given the two
topologies
TX = {, X, {1, 2}}
and
TY = {, Y, {b, c}}.
The reader will have no trouble recognizing that the two spaces (X, TX ) and (Y, TY )
are homeomorphic with f : X Y given by f (1) = c, f (2) = b and f (3) = a being
one possible homeomorphism. Thus, if we disregard that the elements in X are labeled
by 1, 2, 3 and those in Y by a, b, c, the spaces (X, TX ) and (Y, TY ) become identical.
We can think of the homeomorphism f : X Y as a relabeling tool, one which
takes an element x from X and gives it a new label f (x). This relabeling has to be
done with care so as to respect the topologies on X and Y , the relabeling of an open
subset from X has to result in an open subset of Y .
Example 3.1.16. The function f : (R, T ) (R, T ) given by f (x) = x3 is a
homeomorphism for every choice of T {TEu , Tp , T p , Tf c , Tcc , TF ,p }, with the choice of
p being either 0 or 1. Proving this amounts to showing the f and its inverse are
continuous function with respect to the listed topologies. For instance, when T = Tp ,
and V R is a nonempty open set, then p V and so p f 1 (V ) since f (p) = p for
p {1, 0, 1}. Thus f 1 (V ) is open and hence f continuous. The verication of the
other claims is left as an exercise (Exercise 3.5.8).
Example 3.1.17. The function f : (R, TEu ) (R, TEu ) given by f (t) = sinh t =
et ) is a homeomorphism with inverse function f 1 (t) = sinh1 t = ln(x +
+ 1).
1 t
(e
2
x2
Example 3.1.18. Let (X, dX ) and (Y, dY ) be two metric spaces. A function f :
X Y is called an isometry if dY (f (a), f (b)) = dX (a, b, ) for any pair of points
a, b X. Considering X and Y equipped with their associated metric topologies TdX
and TdY respectively, any surjective isometry f : X Y becomes an homeomorphism.
To see this we rst verify that any isometry is continuous. Let x X be any
point and let V be any neighborhood of f (x). Then there exists an r > 0 such that
Bf (x) (r) V . But then Bx (r) is a neighborhood of x with f (Bx (r)) V for if
a Bx (r) then dX (x, a) = r = dY (f (x), f (a)) showing that f (x) Bf (x) (r).
It remains to see that f is a bijection and that its inverse function is also continuous.
These are deferred to Exercise 3.5.11.
43
2
2
2
where |y|2 stands for y1 + y2 + ... + yn .
n
Let a = (a1 , ..., an+1 ) S {N } be any point and let > 0 be chosen at will. Let
M = 1 an+1 and dene as any positive real number subject to the inequality
M
M 2
,
2 n(1 + M ) 2
< min
Then N (Ba ()) BN (a) () showing that N is continuous at a and therefore continuous everywhere since a was arbitrary. To verify this inclusion, let a = (a1 , ..., an+1 )
Ba () and note that this implies that |ai ai | < for each i = 1, ..., n + 1 and
1 an+1 > M/2. Thus
n
ai
ai
1 an+1 1 an+1
=
i=1
< 4n 2
(1 + M )2
M4
< 2
as needed. Showing that 1 is continuous follows a similar line of argument and is
N
left as an exercise.
The geometric meaning of the function N , one from which its name derives, is
that N (x) is the intersection point of the line through N and x S n {N } with the
equatorial plane Rn {0} Rn+1 as illustrated in Figure 1.
44
N
x
N (x)
45
Note that every homeomorphism is both an open and closed map. Indeed the
condition for a bijection f to be open is the same as the condition as for f 1 to be
continuous. Part (a) of Theorem 3.1.9 implies that a homeomorphism is also a closed
map. Perhaps more surprisingly, local homeomorphisms are also open maps.
Proposition 3.1.22. Let f : X Y be a map between topological spaces.
(a) f is an open map if and only if f (Int(A)) Int(f (A)).
A A implies the inclusion f (A) f (A). Since f (A) is closed and contains f (A),
the inclusion f (A) f (A) follows since the closure of f (A) is the smallest closed set
containing f (A).
On the other hand, suppose that f (A) f (A) for all subsets A of X, wed like to
show that f is closed. Thus, let B X be any closed set, then
46
47
for all i = 1, 2, ..., n. Thus, the sequence xk is convergent but has n dierent
limits.
(d) T = Tindis . As we already saw in Example 3.2.3, in the indiscrete topology we
nd that limk xk = x for every x R showing that {xk }k is convergent and
has innitely many limits.
Example 3.2.5. Let X = R be given the nite complement topology Tf c from
Example 2.2.10. Let {xk }k R be a sequence with xk = x whenever k = . Then
{xk }k converges to any point x R since every neighborhood of x contains all but
nitely many elements of {x1 , x2 , x3 , ...}.
Quite to the contrary, if we equip R with the countable complement topology Tcc
instead (Example 2.2.11), then {xk }k is not a convergent sequence anymore. For if
we had lim xk = x we would need xk = x for all suciently large indices k (Exercise
3.5.15). As we assumed that xk = x whenever k = , the latter condition fails.
As the examples above show, in topological spaces limits of sequences may not be
unique and moreover, their number can vary wildly. Thus, in passing from our accustomed setting of Euclidean spaces to the much more general ambience of topological
spaces, we have paid the price of loosing a familiar and desirable property: uniqueness
of the limit of a convergent sequence {xk }k Rn . However, with just a minor sacrice
of generality, we can regain this attribute. To see how, here is rst a denition.
Definition 3.2.6. A topological space X is called Hausdor if every two points
have disjoint neighborhoods. Said dierently, we require that for each pair of points
a, b X, a = b, there exist open sets Ua , Ub X with a Ua , b Ub and Ua Ub = .
Theorem 3.2.7. Let X be a topological space.
(a) If X Hausdor space and xk X is a convergent sequence, then the limit lim xk
is unique.
(b) If X is st countable and has the property that every convergent sequence xk X
has a unique limit, then X is Hausdor.
Proof. (a) Suppose that there are two (or more) limits for {xk }k , say a and
b. Since X is Hausdor, we can nd disjoint neighborhoods Ua and Ub of a and b
respectively. Let ka N be such that xk Ua for all k ka and kb N have the
property that xk Ub for all k kb . Then for all k max{ka , kb } we have that
xk Ua Ub , a contradiction since Ua Ub = .
(b) Given two arbitrary points a, b X with a = b, we need to nd two disjoint
open sets of which one contains a and the other contains b. Let Ba = {Uia X | i N}
and Bb = {Uib X | i N} be countable neighborhood bases at a and b respectively.
We dene new open sets Via and Vib as
a
a
a
Vka = U1 U2 ... Uk
and
b
b
b
Vkb = U1 U2 ... Uk .
These sets are open since they are nite intersections of open sets. Furthermore, notice
that Vja Uia and Vjb Uib for every j i. Clearly, each Via is a neighborhood of a
and each Vib is a neighborhood of b.
48
If Vka Vkb = for some k, we are done. So suppose instead that Vka Vkb = for all
k N. Let xk Vka Vkb be an arbitrary point. This yields a sequence in X which we
a
claim converges to a. To see this, let U be any neighborhood of a and nd an Uka Ba ,
a
ka N, such that Uka U . Then Vka U for every k ka , in particular xk U for
every k ka , showing that lim xk = a. Repeating this same argument for b shows also
that lim xk = b. This is a contradiction since by assumption all convergent sequences
in X have a unique limit. We are thus forced to conclude that there is some k N for
which Vka Vkb = , giving us disjoint neighborhoods of a and b, as needed.
The rst countability condition from part (b) of Theorem 3.2.7 is necessary and
cannot be weakened as the next example shows.
Example 3.2.8. Consider X = R equipped with the countable complement topology. We claim that every convergent sequence {xk }k X has a unique limit. Suppose
not, that is suppose that lim xk = a and lim xk = b with a = b. Let Ua be the open set
Ua = R {xi | i N and xi = a}.
Clearly a Ua and so there must be some na N such that xn Ua for all n na .
But then xn = a for all n na since xn Ua {xi | i N} = {a}. A similar argument
shows that for some nb N all xn = b for n nb . But then xn = a and xn = b
for n max{na , nb } which is impossible since a = b. On the other hand, X is not
Hausdor since every two non-empty open sets have nontrivial intersection. Compare
to Exercise 2.5.22.
Recall that a subset A Rn (with the Euclidean topology) is closed if and only
if it contains the limits of all its convergent sequences (this was the original denition
of a closed subset of Rn , Denition 1.2.1). This characterization of closed sets is only
partly true in general topological spaces.
Theorem 3.2.9. Let X be a topological space and A a subset of X.
(a) If A is a closed then it contains the limits of all its convergent sequences.
(b) If X is rst countable and A contains the limits of all of its convergent sequences, then A is closed.
Proof. (a) Let {xk }k A be a sequence with limit x. If x A then x X A
/
which is an open set. By convergence of {xk }k there must be some k0 N such that
xk X A for all k k0 . This is impossible since xk A and A (X A) = .
(b) We will show that A is closed by exhibiting that A = A. Suppose this were not
49
that x A. Therefor A = A.
That the rst countability condition from part (b) of the preceding theorem cannot
be dropped, is illustrated by the next example.
Example 3.2.10. Let X = R be equipped with the countable complement topology
and let A X be the set A = X {0}. Notice that A is not closed (since X A = {0}
is not open). But A contains the limits of all of its convergent subsequences. To see
this we only need to show that no sequence {xk }k A can converge to 0. This is
easy to see since the set U = X {x1 , x2 , ...} is an open set which contains zero but
no element of the sequence xn . Thus A contains the limits of all of its convergent
sequences. Note that this, in conjunction with Theorem 3.2.9, shows that (R, Tcc )
cannot be rst countable and hence neither second countable.
We conclude this section by examining the relation between continuous functions
and convergent sequences. As the reader may guess by now, with the assumption of
rst countability, the relation between the two is just as in Euclidean space (Theorem
1.3.3).
Theorem 3.2.11. Let f : X Y be a function between two topological spaces.
(a) If f is continuous at x X and if {xk }k X is a convergent sequence with
lim xk = x, then {f (xk )}k Y is also a convergent sequence with lim f (xk ) =
f (x).
(b) If X is rst countable and f has the property that limf (xk ) = f (x) for all
sequences {xk }k X converging to x, then f is continuous at x.
Proof. (a) Suppose that f is continuous at x and let {xk }k X be a convergent
sequence with limit x. To show that {yk }k is a convergent sequence with limit y = f (x),
where yk = f (xk ), let V Y be an arbitrary neighborhood of y. Since f is continuous,
the set U = f 1 (V ) X is a neighborhood of x and by convergence of {xk }k to x,
there is some k0 N such that xk U for all k k0 . But then yk V for all k k0 ,
showing that lim f (xk ) = f (x).
(b) Let V be a neighborhood of f (x) and set U = f 1 (V ). We seek to show that
U contains a neighborhood of x. Suppose that this were not so. In that case, let
Bx = {Ui | i N} be a neighborhood basis around x and dene, as in the proofs of
Theorem 3.2.7 and 3.2.9, the open sets Vj , j N as Vj = U1 Uj . By assumption,
the sets (X U ) Vk are nonempty and so we can pick points xk (X U ) Vk .
The sequence {xk }k is easily seen to converge to x and thus by assumption {f (xk )}k
must converge to f (x). This however is impossible since V is open and f (x) V while
f (xk ) V . Consequently, U must contain a neighborhood Ux of x and hence f is
/
continuous at x.
50
g(x) =
0
1
;
;
x [0, 1 ,
x = 1,
which is not continuous. The extra condition needed to ensure continuity of g is one
that compares how gm (x) converges to g(x) for various x X.
Definition 3.3.1. Let (X, TX ) be a topological space and let gm : X R, m N
be a sequence of continuous functions. We say that the sequence gm converges uniformly
to the function g : X R if for every > 0 there exists an index m0 N so that all
m m0 imply the inequality |g(x) gm (x)| < for all choices of x X.
Saying that gm (x) converges to g(x) for every x X means that for every xed
x X and for every > 0, there is some integer m0 (x) N with |gm (x) g(x)| <
for all m m0 (x). The extra condition incorporated in the denition of uniform
convergence of gm to g is that m0 (x) can be chosen to be the same for all x X (i.e.
we can take m0 (x) to be a constant function). With this understood, here is the main
result of this section.
Theorem 3.3.2. If gm : X R, m N is a sequence of continuous functions
converging uniformly to the function g : X R, then g is also continuous.
Proof. Let x0 X be any point and let V R be any neighborhood of g(x0 ).
Find an > 0 so that g(x0 ) , g(x0 ) + V . By the uniform convergence
property, we can nd an index m0 so that for all m m0 and all x X we obtain
|g(x) gm (x)| < 3 . Pick any index m m0 , then by continuity of gm , there must exist
51
we nd
|g(x) g(x0 )| = |g(x) gm (x) + gm (x) gm (x0 ) + gm (x0 ) g(x0 )|
|g(x) gm (x)| + |gm (x) gm (x0 )| + |gm (x0 ) g(x0 )|
< + + = ,
3 3 3
showing that g(U ) g(x0 ) , g(x0 ) + V . From this, continuity of g at x0 follows
and since x0 X was arbitrary, g is continuous.
3.4. Space lling curves
In Section 3.1 we asked one of the main questions in topology, the questions of
nding eective ways to distinguish topological spaces up to homeomorphism (Question
3.1.20). While this question is much too dicult to address in full generality, one can
hope for a partial answer by restricting the choice of topological spaces considered. In
this section we ask such a more specic question, one which we shall return to on a
number of occasions later in the text and one which, unlike Question 3.1.20, we shall
be able to answer (the curious reader may skip ahead to Corollaries 7.2.8 and Theorem
??).
Question 3.4.1. For which values of m, n N can the n-dimensional Euclidean
space (Rn , TEu ) be homeomorphic to the m-dimensional Euclidean space (Rm , TEu )?
The goal of this section is to convince the reader that this question may have an
answer dierent from the expected one of Only if n = m. We shall attempt to do so
by demonstrating that there exist continuous surjective functions from the unit segment
[0, 1] R to the unit n-dimensional cube [0, 1]n Rn , each equipped with the relative
Euclidean topology. Such functions are referred to as space lling curves. Hence, if
a curve can ll out n-dimensional space, albeit only an n-dimensional cube, perhaps
there also exist homeomorphisms from R to Rn opening the possibility for unexpected
answers to Question 3.4.1. Wed like to emphasize that we do not claim that answers
besides m = n exist, we merely point out that one needs to exercise caution before
jumping to conclusions with regards to homeomorphisms between spaces of dierent
dimensions.
While there is a multitude of space lling curves, we shall utilize a particular construction and dene only one such curve in detail. However, many others can be
obtained by varying the pattern of the curve below, some additional patterns are given
in Figure 5.
We will start by constructing a continuous surjection f : [0, 1] [0, 1]2 . This is
done by dening piecewise linear and continuous functions fm : [0, 1] [0, 1]2 for each
m N and then letting f (x) = limm fm (x). Of course, we will have to argue that
this latter limit exists and that the thus obtained function f is indeed continuous and
surjective. The case of surjective maps f : [0, 1] [0, 1]n for n 3 is then easily
obtained from this example.
52
1
1
I2 = [ 4 , 2 ],
4
2
1
I1 = [ 4 , 3 ],
4
1
I1 = [ 3 , 4 ].
4 4
Similarly divide the unit square [0, 1]2 into four congruent squares Ji1 , i = 1, ..., 4 by
dening
1
1
J1 = [0, 2 ] [0, 1 ],
2
1
J2 = [0, 1 ] [ 1 , 1],
2
2
1
J3 = [ 1 , 1] [ 1 , 1],
2
2
1
1
1
J4 = [ 2 , 1] [0, 2 ].
We then let f1 : [0, 1] [0, 1]2 be any continuous function that maps Ii1 into Ji1 ,
1
1
1
1
I1 I2 I3 I4
2
I1
f1
......
2
I16
f2
1
J2
1
J3
1
J1
1
J4
2
J6
2
J7
2
J10
2
J11
2
J5
2
J8
2
J9
2
J12
2
J4
2
J3
2
J14
2
J13
2
J1
2
J2
2
J15
2
J16
Figure 2. The subdivision of [0, 1] and [0, 1]2 for the cases of m =
1, 2. The arrows inside of the two copies of [0, 1]2 indicate our choice
of ordering of the subdivision squares Jim (m = 1, 2) with respect to i.
Similar orderings are to be applied to Jim for m 3.
i = 1, . . . , 4 and whose image in [0, 1]2 looks as in Figure 4. We refer to the image of
f1 as the pattern of the curve to be constructed. Note that Im(f1 ) Ji1 = for every
i = 1, . . . , 4.
To obtain f2 : [0, 1] [0, 1]2 we proceed in much the same manner. This time we
i
divide [0, 1] into the 16 congruent segments Ii2 , i = 1, ..., 16 with Ii2 = [ i1 , 16 ] and
16
likewise, we divide [0, 1]2 into 16 congruent squares Ji2 , i = 1, ..., 16. These subdivision
squares of [0, 1]2 are chosen as
2
J1 = [0, 1 ] [0, 1 ],
4
4
1
2
J2 = [ 4 , 2 ] [0, 1 ],
4
4
1
1
2
J3 = [ 4 , 2 ] [ 4 , 2 ],
4
4
1
2
J4 = [0, 1 ] [ 4 , 2 ],
4
4
3
2
J5 = [0, 1 ] [ 2 , 4 ],
4
4
2
J6 = [0, 1 ] [ 3 , 4 ],
4
4 4
1
3
2
J7 = [ 4 , 2 ] [ 4 , 4 ],
4
4
1
2
2
J8 = [ 4 , 2 ] [ 4 , 3 ],
4
4
3
3
2
3
2
2
2
2
2
J9 = [ 2 , 4 ] [ 2 , 4 ], J10 = [ 4 , 3 ] [ 3 , 4 ], J11 = [ 3 , 4 ] [ 4 , 4 ], J12 = [ 3 , 4 ] [ 4 , 3 ],
4
4
4
4 4
4 4
4
4 4
4
4
2
2
3
4
2
2
2
2
J13 = [ 3 , 4 ] [ 1 , 4 ], J14 = [ 4 , 3 ] [ 1 , 2 ], J15 = [ 2 , 4 ] [0, 1 ], J16 = [ 3 , 4 ] [0, 1 ].
4
4
4
4 4
4
4
4
4
53
Figure 2 illustrates our choices of Ii1 , Ii2 , Ji1 and Ji2 for the various indices i. The
function f2 : [0, 1] [0, 1]2 is chosen so that f2 (Ii2 ) Ji2 for each i = 1, ..., 16 and so
that its image looks as in Figure 4. Notice again that our denition of f2 implies that
Im(f2 ) Ji2 = for all i = 1, ..., 16.
From here on we proceed inductively on m to dene fm : [0, 1] [0, 1]2 , m 3.
We do so by subdividing [0, 1] into 4m congruent intervals Iim , i = 1, ..., 4m and by
subdividing [0, 1]2 into 4m congruent squares Jim , i = 1, ..., 4m . The function fm is then
chosen subject to the condition fm (Iim ) Jim for each i = 1, ..., 4m and is otherwise
dened as in Figure 3. The images of the thus constructed functions fm are shown in
Figure 4 for m = 1, 2, 3, 4.
The two key features of the functions fm : [0, 1] [0, 1]2 obvious from their construction, are:
(a) If fm (x) Jim for some i = 1, ..., 4m , then fm+k (x) Jim for all k N.
(3.1) (b) For every m N and for every i = 1, ..., 4m we obtain Im(fm ) Jim = .
For the remainder of this section, we shall refer to these simply as Properties (a) and
(b). The attentive reader will notice that the proofs of the Lemmas 3.4.2, 3.4.3 and
3.4.4 below, will be carried out only by relying on these two properties rather than on
any other specics about the construction of fm .
Lemma 3.4.2. For every x [0, 1] and for every k N we obtain the inequality
2
d2 (fm (x), fm+k (x)) m ,
2
where d2 is the Euclidean metric from (1.1). Consequently, the sequence {fm (x)}m is
convergent for every x [0, 1].
Proof. The stated inequality for d2 (fm (x), fm+k (x)) follows from Property (a) of
2
(3.1) and from the observation that 2m is the length of the diagonal of Jim and is
therefore the largest distance between any two points in Jim . This inequality shows
that the sequence {fm (x)}m is a Cauchy sequence in [0, 1]2 for any choice of x [0, 1]
and is thus convergent by Theorem 1.1.6.
We are now in the position to dene our space lling function f : [0, 1] [0, 1]2 as
(3.2)
2
Applying the limit as k goes to innity to the inequality d2 (fm (x), fm+k (x)) 2m from
Lemma 3.4.2, we obtain the useful inequality
2
(3.3)
d2 (fm (x), f (x)) m
x [0, 1].
2
This step is justied by continuity of the function x d2 (y, x) for any choice of y R2
(Exercise 3.5.10) and by Theorem 1.1.5. Our rst order of business is to show that f
is continuous.
Im(fm )
Im(fm )
Im(fm )
Im(fm )
54
Im(fm )
Im(fm+1 )
Figure 3. The function fm+1 : [0, 1] [0, 1]2 is constructed from the
function fm : [0, 1] [0, 1]2 as follows: Take 4 copies of the unit square
[0, 1]2 and shrink each by a factor of 2. Arrange these 4 shrunken
squaresinto a new square [0, 1]2 as indicated on the right gure above.
Thus, 2 of the shrunken squares are placed side by side to ll the upper
half of [0, 1]2 while the remaining 2 shrunken squares are rst rotated
by 90 and the placed into the bottom half of [0, 1]2 . The image of
fm+1 in [0, 1]2 is then the union of the 4 shrunken copies of the image of
fm , connected suitably by small straight line segments (indicated in red)
so as to make fm+1 continuous. This gure also explains the indexing
of the subdivision squares Jim+1 , i = 1, ..., 4m+1 . Namely, the rst 4m
of these squares are the 4m squares Jim from the previous stage of the
construction, shrunk by a factor of 2 and placed in the lower left corner
of [0, 1]2 . One repeats this process three more time placing three more
copies of the 4m squares Jim into the upper left, upper right and nally
lower right corner of [0, 1]2 . The indices i in Jim are increased by 4m ,
2 4m and 3 4m respectively, in this process.
Lemma 3.4.3. The function f : [0, 1] [0, 1]2 constructed in (3.2), is continuous.
Proof. Inequality (3.3) shows the sequence {fm }m to converge uniformly to f .
The claim of the lemma is now immediate from Theorem 3.3.2.
Next we check that f is surjective.
Lemma 3.4.4. The function f : [0, 1] [0, 1]2 dened in (3.2), is surjective.
Im(f1 )
Im(f2 )
Im(f3 )
55
Im(f4 )
2
Then d(fm (xm ), y0 ) 2m .
Since the sequence {xm }m [0, 1] is bounded, it must have a convergent subsequence {xk(m) }m with m k(m) an increasing function. Let x0 be the limit of
{xk(m) }m . By continuity of f , the sequence {f (xk(m) }m has to converge to f (x0 ) (Theorem 1.1.5). Thus, for any > 0 there exists an m0 N such that m m0 implies that
d(f (xk(m) ), f (x0 )) < 3 . For this same , let us chose a value m1 N such that 2m2 < 3 .
1
Since k(m) m, choosing any m m1 will imply that the inequality 2k(m) < 3 still
holds. Putting these observations together, we nd that for any m max{m0 , m1 },
the next inequality holds:
d(f (x0 ), y0 ) d(f (x0 ), f (xk(m) )) + d(f (xk(m) ), fk(m) (xk(m) )) + d(fk(m) (xk(m) ), y0 ),
< + + ,
3 3 3
= .
The bound on the second term on the right hand side of the rst line, comes from
Equation (3.3). Since d(f (x0 ), y0 ) < for every > 0, it must be that d(f (x0 ), y0 ) = 0
and therefore that f (x0 ) = y0 as desired.
Having constructed a continuous surjection f from [0, 1] onto [0, 1]2 , we can easily
obtain surjections from [0, 1] to [0, 1]n . To do this, let us write f (t) = (1 (t), 2 (t))
with 1 , 2 : [0, 1] [0, 1] being the coordinate functions of f . Let Fn : [0, 1] [0, 1]n
be dened inductively as F2 = f and
(3.4)
Since 1 and 2 are continuous, Fn+1 is also continuous given that Fn is continuous. An
induction on n then shows that all Fn are continuous since F2 is. Also by induction on
56
n one can show that Fn surjects onto [0, 1]n . For example, when n = 3, let (t1 , t2 , t3 )
[0, 1]3 be any point. By surjectivity of F2 , we can nd an s [0, 1] such that F2 (s) =
(t2 , t3 ). By surjectivity of (1 , 2 ), we can then nd a t [0, 1] such that (1 (t), 2 (t)) =
(t1 , s). But then
F3 (t) = (1 (t), F2 (2 (t))) = (t1 , F2 (s)) = (t1 , t2 , t3 ),
showing that F3 is surjective. The case of n 3 is handled similarly and is left as an
exercise.
Our construction of the functions fm : [0, 1] [0, 1]2 , m N started by choosing
the image of f1 in [0, 1]2 more or less arbitrary, and then constructing the functions
fm , m 2 according to the recipe in Figure 3. In this sense the functions fm , m 2
are pinned down by our choice of f1 , that is they are determined by the choice of
the pattern of the space lling curve. As long as the construction of the functions fm
satises Properties (a) and (b) from (3.1), we have complete freedom for choosing our
pattern for f1 . By varying the pattern, we may construct a multitude of space lling
curves. Figure 5 shows several alternative patterns.
3.5. Exercises
3.5.1. For a function f : X Y between sets X and Y , and for any family of
subsets Vi Y , i I, show that
(a) f 1 (iI Vi ) = iI f 1 (Vi ).
(b) f 1 (iI Vi ) = iI f 1 (Vi ).
3.5.2. Verify whether or not the given function f : R R is continuous. Here the
domain of f is equipped with the topology T1 and the codomain with the topology T2 .
(a) f (x) = sin x, T1 = Tcc , T2 = TEu .
(b) f (x) = cos x, T1 = Tp with p = 0, T2 = Tp with p = 1.
(c) f (x) = x3 , T1 = T p with p = 0, T2 = TF ,p with p = 0.
3.5.3. For R let f : R R be the function f (x) = x + . If both the domain
and codomain of f are equipped with the nite complement topology, for which R
is f continuous?
3.5.4. Consider the open ball Bx (r) Rn equipped with the relative Euclidean
topology inherited from Rn . Show that for every choice of x Rn and radius r > 0,
Bx (r) is homeomorphic to (Rn , TEu ). (Hint: Show rstly that the tangent function
tan : , R is a homeomorphism and use this to solve the exercise for n = 1.
2 2
Apply this in conjunction with polar coordinates to the case of n 2.)
3.5.5. Construct an explicit homeomorphism f : Dn [1, 1]n . Here
Dn = {x Rn+1 | x2 + + x2 1},
1
n
[1, 1]n = {x Rn | 1 xi 1, i = 1, . . . , n},
and each of the spaces comes with the relative Euclidean topology.
3.5. EXERCISES
57
58
3.5.8. Verify the claims from Example 3.1.16: Show that f : (R, T ) (R, T ) given
by f (x) = x3 is a homeomorphism for any choice of T {TEu , Tp , T p , Tf c , Tcc , TF ,p }
with p being either 0 or 1.
3.5.9. Find a formula describing the stereographic projection S : S n {S} Rn
from the south pole S = (0, 0, . . . , 0, 1)of the unit n-sphere in Rn+1 (see Example
3.1.19). Verify that it denes a homeomorphism between S n {S} and Rn .
3.5.10. Let (X, d) be a metric space and Td the associated metric topology on X.
Show that for any xed choice of y X, the function fy : X [0, given by
fy (x) = d(x, y) is a continuous function. Here [0, carries the relative Euclidean
topology.
3.5.11. Let (X, dX ) and (Y, dY ) be two metric spaces. Recall from Example 3.1.18
that a function f : X Y is called an isometry if dY (f (a), f (b)) = dX (a, b) for any
pair of points a, b X. To complete the claims from Example 3.1.18, prove that
(a) Every isometry is an injective function.
(b) Show that the inverse of a bijective isometry is again an isometry.
3.5.12. Show that the notions of open mapand closed map(Denition 3.1.21)
are independent. Specically, consider the functions f : R R and g : R2 R given
by
f (x) = x2 , and g(x, y) = x.
Show that f is a closed map that is not open, and show that g is an open map that is
not closed.
3.5.13. Show by example that a local homeomorphism is not necessarily a closed
map (compare to part (c) of Proposition 3.1.22).
3.5.14. Determine whether or not the sequence {xk }k R converges when R is
given the topology T . If the sequence converges, nd all of its limits.
(a) xk = (1)k and T = TP with the partition P given by P = {[n, n + 1 | n Z}.
(b) xk = sin k and T = Tll .
(c) xk = ln k and T is the topology generated by the subbases
S = { n, n | n N}.
3.5.15. Consider R with the countable complement topology Tcc from Example
2.2.11. Show that a sequence {xk }k R converges to x R if and only if there is an
integer k0 such that xk = x for all k k0 .
3.5.16. Show by example that the condition of rst countability cannot be dropped
from part (b) of Theorem 3.2.11. Specically, nd an example of a function f : X Y
that is not continuous at a point x X, but has the property that if {xk }k X is a
sequence converging to x, then the sequence {f (xk )}k converges to f (x).
3.5. EXERCISES
59
3.5.17. Show that the maps Fn : [0, 1] [0, 1]n dened in (3.4), are surjective for
each n 4. The case of n = 3 was addressed in the paragraph following equation
(3.4).
CHAPTER 4
Separation axioms
are separated if A B = = A B.
For example, closed and disjoint sets A, B X are separated.
Definition 4.1.2. Let (X, T ) be a topological space. Then
(a) X is called T0 or Kolmogorov if for any two points x, y X there exists an open
set U X such that either x U and y U , or y U and x U .
/
/
(b) X is called T1 or Frchet if for any two points x, y X there exist open sets
e
Ux , Uy X such that x Ux Uy and y Uy Ux .
(c) X is called T2 or Hausdor if for any two points x, y X there exist disjoint
open sets Ux , Uy X such that x Ux and y Uy (Denition 3.2.6).
(d) X is called T3 if for any closed set A X and any point x X A there are
disjoint open sets UA , Ux X such that A UA and x Ux .
(e) X is called T3 1 if for any closed set A X and any point x X A there
2
exists a continuous function f : X [0, 1] with f |A 0 and f (x) = 1.
61
62
4. SEPARATION AXIOMS
(f) X is called T4 if for any two disjoint closed sets A, B X there are disjoint
open sets UA , UB X with A UA and B UB .
(g) X is called T5 if for any two separated sets A, B X (see denition 4.1.1 above)
there are disjoint open sets UA , UB X with A UA and B UB .
From the properties T0 T5 , we derive three additional denitions. Namely, we shall
that that
(h)
(i)
(j)
(k)
X
X
X
X
is
is
is
is
The various properties T0 T5 are not entirely unrelated. Their various dependencies
are easily unraveled with the help of the next lemma.
Lemma 4.1.3. Let X be a T1 space, then for any point x X, the set {x} is closed.
Proof. For any point y X {x} let Uy be a neighborhood of y not containing
x. Then
X {x} =
Uy ,
yX{x}
(4.1)
T1
T2
T1 and T3
T3 1
2
T1 and T4
T1 and T4
T5
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
T0 ,
T1 ,
T2 ,
T3 ,
T3 1 (Corollary 4.5.4),
2
T3 ,
T4 .
4.2. EXAMPLES
63
64
4. SEPARATION AXIOMS
X A
Given this, the two open sets UA and UB from the separation axiom for T5 can be taken
Finally, let A, B R be two separated sets. Note that A = A{0} and B = B{0}.
and
Uy = [y, y + 1
These are disjoint neighborhoods of x and y respectively showing that (R, Tll ) is T2 .
65
the open set UA as UA = aA [a, xa and in a similar vein dene also UB . These
are open sets (being a union of open sets) and contain A and B respectively. If we
had UA UB = , then there would have to be some a A and some b B so that
[a, xa [b, xb = . Suppose that a < b (the case b < a is treated analogously), then
b [a, xa (since b is the smallest element of [b, xb ) but this would yield a contradiction
such that Ba (ra ) B = . For if not, part (c) of Lemma 2.3.2 would imply that a B
= . Let Ua = Ba (ra /2) and dene UA = aA Ua .
contradicting the assumption A B
In a similar vein dene also rb , Ub and UB . It is clear that UA and UB are open sets
containing A and B respectively. It remains to show that they are disjoint. If not, we
could nd a point p UA UB . But then there would be points a A and b B such
that p Ua Ub showing further that
d(a, b) d(a, p) + d(p, b) < ra /2 + rb /2.
For concreteness, suppose that ra rb . Then the above equality implies that d(a, b) <
rb showing that a Ub , a contradiction. We arrive at UA UB = verifying property
T5 for (X, Td ).
The results of this example can be used to show that certain topologies are not
metrizable (Denition 2.4.17). It was already pointed out that the included point
topology Tp and the nite complements topology Tf c on R are not metrizable (see
paragraph following Denition 2.4.17). Example 4.2.4 shows that the excluded point
topology T p is not metrizable either.
Example 4.2.7. (Rn , TEu ) is T0 , . . . , T5 . Recall that the Euclidean topology TEu
on Rn is a metric topology associated to the Euclidean metric d2 . Thus Example 4.2.6
shows that (Rn , TEu ) is T0 , . . . , T5 .
4.3. Topological invariants
We have thus far expanded most of our eorts towards the study of properties
of topological spaces and continuous functions between them. These are necessary
prerequisites for the more involved concepts studied in later chapters and will be used
throughout the remainder of the book. Before delving into these, we pause here to
reect on a question that lies at the heart of most eorts in topology.
Question 4.3.1. Given a pair of topological spaces X and Y , are they homeomorphic?
66
4. SEPARATION AXIOMS
This is a dicult question in general, indeed its full resolution shall forever stay out
of grasp. Indeed, even restricting the choices of X and Y to particularly nice classes
of topological spaces, for example manifolds, this question is undecidable.
Nevertheless, we can try to obtain partial answers to Question 4.3.1. The main tool
in doing so is the use of topological invariants which we now introduce and then apply
to Question 4.3.1.
Definition 4.3.2. A topological invariant is a function
O : { Set of topological spaces } { Set of objects },
such that if X and Y are homeomorphic than O(X) = O(Y ). The Set of objects
can be any set, examples include the set of integers, the set (ring) of polynomials over
a commutative ring, the set of (isomorphism classes of ) groups, etc.
Remark 4.3.3. It is important to note that the implication
XY
=
O(X) = O(Y ),
=
is one directional. It is generally not possible to conclude that X and Y are homeomorphic given O(X) = O(Y ). With regards to Question 4.3.1, topological invariants
are most frequently used to tell that two spaces X and Y are not homeomorphic, as
would follow from O(X) = O(Y ), rather than to conclude that they are.
Many of the properties of topological spaces encountered in the present chapter and
in Chapter 2, are topological invariants. We present one example with full details and
state others with less elaboration.
Example 4.3.4. Consider the set
V={
Is separable. ,
Is not separable. }
Thus V is a set of two elements, each being a phrase. We use V to dene the function
O : { Set of topological spaces } V,
by setting
O(X) =
Is separable.
Is not separable.
67
Separable,
Being Ti for i {0, 1, 2, 3, 3 1 , 4, 5},
2
68
4. SEPARATION AXIOMS
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
We organize our results in the table below. Given the row containing the topology
T1 and the column containing T2 , the corresponding entry in the table is either a
checkmark
or a crossmark , indicating whether (R, T1 ) and (R, T2 ) are or are not
homeomorphic. The table entries are clearly symmetric about the subdiagonal and the
subdiagonal itself consists of s as each space is homeomorphic to itself.
TEu Tdis
TEu
Tdis
Tp
p
T
Tf c
Tcc
TF,p
Tll
Tul
Table 1. Homeomorphism
troduced in Section 2.2.
T p T p Tf c
relationships
Tcc TF,p
among the
Tll Tul
topologies on R in-
We explain some of the table entries and leave some for the reader to work out.
This is an instructive exercise that we highly recommend (Exercise 4.6.8). The red
checkmarks linking the nite complement with the countable complement topology is
there to emphasize that all of the topological invariants introduced in Theorem 4.3.6
agree for (R, Tf c ) and (R, Tcc ). To tell that these two spaces are not homeomorphic,
another topological invariant is used, see Exercise 4.6.6. We start by considering the
second countability invariant.
Lemma 4.4.1. Of the nine topologies TEu , Tdis , Tp , T p , Tf c , Tcc , TF,p , Tll and Tul
on R, only the Euclidean topology TEu is second countable.
Proof. The Euclidean topology TEu is second countable according to Example
2.4.4, while the included point topology Tp is not second countable according to Example 2.4.5. Example 2.3.9 shows that (R, Tdis ) is not separable and so by Lemma 2.4.9
it is not second countable either. Here are the remaining six cases:
69
T p Every set {x} R with x = p is open and cannot be written as the union of
any other non-empty open sets. Thus every basis B for (R, T p ) must at least
contain {x}, x R {p} which is an uncountable set. Consequently, every
basis is uncountable.
Tf c Suppose a countable basis B = {Ui | i N} existed. Then we could pick an
arbitrary point x R and consider the countable non-empty set Bx = {Ui
B | x Ui }. Since for every y = x, the set R {y} is open, it must be a union of
elements from B showing that for every y = x there exists an element Ui Bx
with y Ui . But then Ui Bx Ui = {x} so that
/
R {x} = R Ui Bx Ui = Ui Bx (R Ui ).
Tcc
TF,p
Tll
Tul
The results of the preceding lemma suce to ll out the rst row and column of
Table 1. We next turn to the Hausdor property.
Lemma 4.4.2. Of the nine topologies TEu , Tdis , Tp , T p , Tf c , Tcc , TF,p , Tll , Tul on R,
the Hausdor ones are precisely TEu , Tdis , TF,p , Tll and Tul .
Proof. Examples 4.2.2, 4.2.3 and 4.2.4 show that (R, Tf c ), (R, Tp ) and (R, T p )
are not Hausdor, while Examples 4.2.5 and 4.2.7 show that (R, Tll ) and (R, TEu ) are
Hausdor. A straightforward adaption of Example 4.2.5 shows that (R, Tul ) is also
Hausdor. Here are the remaining three cases.
Tdis This topology is Hausdor since {x} and {y} are disjoint neighborhood for a
pair of distinct points x, y R.
Tcc As in the nite complement topology, no disjoint non-empty open sets exist.
TF,p Let x, y R be two distinct points with x = p. Then {x} and R {x} are
two disjoint neighborhoods of x and y respectively, showing (R, TF,p ) to be
Hausdor.
Lemma 4.4.2 contributes an additional 32 crossmarks to Table 1.
70
4. SEPARATION AXIOMS
in Table 1.
A V V U.
Proof. = Suppose rstly that X is T4 and let A U X be sets of which A
is closed and U open. Consider the two closed and disjoint sets A, X U X. By the
T4 property of X, there exist disjoint open subsets WA and WXU containing A and
X U respectively. But then
WA WXU =
WA X WXU ,
and since X WXU is a closed set, we see that W A X WXU . On the other
hand, since X U WXU then X WXU U . Thus V = WA has the property
that A V V U , as desired.
= Suppose that X has the property that for every pair A U X with A
71
in which, for instance, q5 = 1/4 and q9 = 3/5. We note that there is no relation
between the size of the indices i, j N {0} and the size of qi and qj .
In the rst step of the proof, our strategy shall be to construct an open set Uq for
every point q Q[0,1] , subject to the conditions
A Uq0 Uq0 Uq1 . With these denitions of Uq0 and Uq1 , properties (a) and (b)
above are met.
Proceeding by induction, suppose that the sets Uq0 , , ..., Uqn , subject to conditions
(a) and (b) above, have been dened. Consider the nite set {q0 , q1 , ..., qn , qn+1 } and
suppose that, with respect to the ordering of rational numbers, qn+1 ts in between qi
and qj with i, j {0, 1, ..., n}. Thus, the indices i, j are chosen so that qi < qn+1 < qj
and so that for any other index k {0, ..., n} {i, j} we either get qk < qi or qj < qk .
Such indices i, j must exist since q0 = 0 and q1 = 1 and qn+1 [0, 1]. By our inductive
assumption, the inclusion Uqi Uqj must hold and by Lemma 4.5.1, an open set
1
inf{q Q[0,1] | x Uq }
;
;
x B,
x B.
/
Note that f is well dened since if x is not in B, then the set {q Q[0,1] | x Uq }
contains 0 and is therefore non-empty. We will prove that f satises the conditions
asserted by the theorem.
If x A then x U0 (and x B) so that inf{q Q[0,1] | x Uq } = 0 and hence
/
f |A 0. By denition of f , the relation f |B 1 is evident. To see that f is continuous
we will show that for every x X and every open set V R containing f (x) V , there
exists a neighborhood U of x in X with f (U ) V . This will show that f is continuous
at x and since x is arbitrary, we will have shown f to be continuous. Observe that
If x Uqi then f (x) qi .
If x Uqj then qj f (x).
/
The rst point above is obvious while the second point follows from the observation
that if f (x) = y < qj then x Uq for some rational number q in y, qj , an impossibility
since if x Uqj while Uq Uqj .
/
72
4. SEPARATION AXIOMS
U0
U2
3
U3
4
U1
Figure 1. A depiction of some of the sets Uq , q Q [0, 1] used in the
3
proof of the Urysohn lemma. The values of q = 2 , 4 have been picked
3
randomly, however, there is less freedom in choosing the sets U0 and U1
and they have been portrayed as chosen in the proof of the Urysohn
lemma.
Pick any x X and let V R be an open set with f (x) V . Find an > 0
so that f (x) , f (x) + V . If f (x) = 1, nd a rational number qj 1 , 1],
numbers qi , qj with f (x) < qj < x < qi < f (x) + and set U = Uqi Uqj . Then
again f (U ) V .
Before considering some of the consequences of Urysohns Lemma, well work through
an example.
Example 4.5.3. Consider the Euclidean line (R, TEu ) and let A, B R be the
closed subsets A = [2, 1] and B = [1, 2]. We shall follow, step by step, the proof of
Urysohns Lemma (Theorem 4.5.2) to construct a continuous function f : R R with
73
Uq = , q ,
and
q [0, 1 Q.
Recall that the set U1 was dened as R B in the proof of Theorem 4.5.2, while the
sets Uq for q = 1 had to be chosen so that A U0 and whenever q1 < q2 then Uq1 Uq2 .
q1 = , q1 ] which is clearly contained in , q2 if
With our choices as above, U
q1 < q2 . The function f : R [0, 1] is then dened as
1
inf{q Q[0,1] | x Uq }
f (x) =
;
;
xB
xB
/
0
x
f (x) =
1
x0
0x1
; 1x
;
;
This is clearly a continuous and A f 1 (0) and B f 1 (1), see Figure 2 for a graph
of f .
Figure 2. The graph of the function f (in green) constructed using the
proof of the Urysohn Lemma for the subsets A = [2, 1] (in blue) and
B = [1, 2] (in red) of the Euclidean line.
Here are some immediate consequences of Urysohns Lemma.
Corollary 4.5.4. Every normal space is completely regular.
Proof. Suppose that X is normal, i.e. that it possesses the separation properties
T1 and T4 . To show that X is completely regular, we only need to demonstrate that X
is T3 1 . Let A X be any closed set and let x X A be any point. By Lemma 4.1.3,
2
74
4. SEPARATION AXIOMS
the set B = {x} is a closed set and so by the Urysohn Lemma (theorem 4.5.2), there
exists a map f : X R with f |A 0 and f (x) = 1. Thus X is T3 1 , as needed.
2
The next statement follows from the Urysohn Lemma and from Example 4.2.6 by
which every metric space (X, d) is T0 ,. . . ,T5 .
Corollary 4.5.5. Let (X, d) be a metric space and equip X with the associated
metric topology Td . Then (X, Td ) is T3 1 and completely regular. Thus, given any two
2
closed and disjoint subsets A, B X, there exists a continuous function f : X [0, 1]
with f |A 0 and f |B 1.
In the case of metric spaces, the function f from the preceding corollary can be
made completely explicit. To see this, we rst digress to make a denition and an
observation (Lemma 4.5.7).
Definition 4.5.6. Let (X, d) be a metric space and let A X be a subset of X.
We dene the function dA : X [0, as
dA (x) = inf{d(x, a) | a A},
and call it the distance function from A (or simply the distance from A).
Lemma 4.5.7. Let (X, d) be a metric space.
(a) If A X is closed subset, then d(x, A) = 0 if and only if x A.
(b) If A, B X are two disjoint and closed subsets of X, then dA (x) + dB (x) > 0
for every x X.
(c) For every subset A X, the function dA : X [0, is continuous.
Proof. (a) If x A then clearly dA (x) = 0. Suppose conversely that x X is
some element with dA (x) = 0. Thus, for every n N there must exist an element
an A with d(x, an ) < 1/n (by the denition of the inmum). But then lim an = x
and since A is closed, x must lie in A (part (a) of Theorem 3.2.9).
(b) This is immediate from part (a) for if dA (x)+dB (x) = 0 then dA (x) = 0 = dB (x).
By part (a) these two equalities would imply x A and x B and hence x A B,
a contradiction since A and B are assumed to be disjoint.
(c) Let x X be any point and let V [0, be any neighborhood of dA (x). If
dA (x) > 0, nd and > 0 such that dA (x) 2, dA (x) + 2 V and if dA (x) = 0
then nd an > 0 such that [0, 2 V . Let U = Bx () X, we claim that then
dA (U ) V showing continuity of dA at x. Since x X was arbitrary, this proves
continuity of dA .
To see that dA (U ) V , pick a point y U . For every n N there must exist a
point an A such that d(x, an ) < dA (x) + 1/n. By the triangle inequality, this implies
that d(y, an ) d(y, x) + d(x, an ) < + dA (x) + 1/n. Therefore, dA (y) dA (x) .
Arguing the same way by swapping the roles of x and y one obtains the inequality
dA (x) dA (y) showing that |dA (x) dA (y)| and so dA (y) V . Since y U
was arbitrary, this shows that dA (U ) V .
75
If the set A X is not closed, part (a) of the lemma may fail. For instance, if
(X, d) = (R, d2 ) (the Euclidean metric on R) and A = 0, 1 then dA (0) = 0 = dA (1)
but neither of 0 or 1 belong to A.
Armed with Lemma 4.5.7, we return to the setting of Corollary 4.5.5. Let (X, d)
be a metric space and let A, B X be a pair of disjoint, closed subsets of X. Dene
f : X [0, 1] as
dA (x)
(4.2)
f (x) =
.
dA (x) + dB (x)
By part (c) of Lemma 4.5.7, the denominator of the right hand side above, is never
zero showing that f is well dened. If x A then dA (x) = 0 so that f (x) = 0 while if
x B then dB (x) = 0 giving f (x) = 1 (by part (a) of Lemma 4.5.7). Thus A f 1 (0)
and B f 1 (1) showing that this function f has the properties of the function f from
Corollary 4.5.5. In fact, equality holds in both of these inclusions (Exercise 4.6.9) thus
yielding a slight strengthening of Corollary 4.5.5. With these ndings, we return one
more time to the setting of Example 4.5.3.
Example 4.5.8. Consider the Euclidean line (R, TEu ) with the Euclidean metric
d2 (x, y) = |x y| and let A, B R be the two closed and disjoint subsets A = [2, 1]
and B = [1, 2]. The two distance functions dA and dB take on the forms
; x 1,
; x 2,
1x
2 x
0
; x [1, 2],
0
; x [2, 1],
, dB (x) =
dA (x) =
x2
; x 2.
x+1
; x 1,
Combining these, the function f : R R from equation (4.2) becomes
2+x
; x 2
1+2x
0
; x [2, 1]
x+1
; x [1, 1]
f (x) =
2
; x [1, 2]
x+1
; x2
2x1
Figure 3 shows the graph of this function, the reader may nd it instructive to compare
it to the graph of the function f constructed in Example 4.5.3, see Figure 2.
76
4. SEPARATION AXIOMS
Figure 3. The graph of the function f (in green) from equation (4.2) for
the subsets A = [2, 1] (in blue) and B = [1, 2] (in red) of the Euclidean
line equipped with the standard metric d(x, y) = |x y|. Compare this
to the graph of the function f from gure 2 constructed directly from
the proof of Urysohns lemma.
4.6. Exercises
4.6.1. Finish the proof of of part (b) of Theorem 4.1.4: Show that a closed subspace
Y of a T5 -space X is itself a T5 -space.
4.6.2. Consider the real line R equipped with the Fort topology TF ,p . Show that
1
(R, TF ,p ) is a Ti -space for all i {0, 1, 2, 3, 3 2 , 4, 5}.
4.6.3. Consider R2 equipped with the topology T generated by the basis
B = {{x} U | x R, U TEu }.
Check that B is a basis of a topology, and then verify whether or not (R2 , T ) is
(a) Hausdor.
(b) Normal.
4.6.4. Consider the rationals Q R equipped with the relative Euclidean topology.
Show that Q is a T4 -space. Is it a T5 -space?
4.6.5. Prove the topological invariance of the properties of First and Second Countability, and of being a Ti -space for i {0, 1, 3, 3 1 4, 5}. Recall that the topological
,
invariance of Separability and of being a T2 -space were addressed in Example 4.3.4 and
Theorem 4.3.6.
4.6. EXERCISES
77
4.6.6. Consider the functions Omax , Omin : { Set of topological spaces } N{},
dened as
with n limits.
that no convergent seOmax (X, T ) =
quence in X has more
than M limits.
; Otherwise.
Omin (X, T ) =
gent sequence in X
with n limits.
Otherwise.
(a) Show that both Omax and Omin are topological invariants.
(b) Show that
Omax (R, Tf c ) = = Omin (R, Tf c )
and
Note that if (X, T ) is a Hausdor space, then Omax (X, T ) = Omin (X, T ) = 1. The
converse is not true in general.
4.6.7. Show that the function O : { Set of topological spaces } {0, 1}, dened
by
f (X, T ) =
0
1
;
;
is a topological invariant. Using this invariant, show that (R, TEu ) and (R {0}, TEu )
are not homeomorphic spaces.
4.6.8. Fill in the eleven pairs of missing entries in Table 1 that are not accounted
for by Lemmas 4.4.1, 4.4.2 and 4.4.3. Specically, show that of the nine topologies TEu ,
Tdis , Tp , T p , Tf c , Tcc , TF,p , Tll , Tul on R, the ones that are
(a) T1 are precisely TEu , Tdis , Tf c , Tcc , TF,p , Tll , Tul . Use this to add four pairs of
crossmarks to Table 1.
(b) T4 are precisely TEu , Tdis , T p , TF,p , Tll , Tul . Use this to conclude that (R, Tp )
and (R, T p ) are not homeomorphic, and add an new pair of crossmarks to
Table 1.
(c) separable are precisely TEu , Tp , Tll , Tul . Use this to add four pairs of crossmarks
to Table 1.
78
4. SEPARATION AXIOMS
(d) rst countable are precisely TEu , Tdis , Tp , T p , Tll , Tul . Conclude that (R, Tdis )
and (R, TF ,p ) are not homeomorphic, add a pair of crossmarks to Table 1.
(e) Use the results of Exercise 4.6.6 to show that (R, Tf c ) and (R, Tcc ) are not
homeomorphic, completing Table 1.
4.6.9. Let (X, d) be a metric space and consider X equipped with the associated
metric topology Td . Let A, B X be two closed and disjoint subsets so that the
function f : X [0, in equation (4.2) is well dened. Show that f 1 (0) = A and
f 1 (1) = B.
4.6.10. Consider R2 with the Euclidean metric and let A, B R2 be the sets
A = Cl(B(0,0) (1)) and B = Cl(B(4,0) (1)). Following the proof of the Urysohn Lemma
4.5.2, and the notation therein, show that possible choices of the sets Uq , q Q [0, 1],
are given by
; q=1
B(0,0) (2 + q)
Uq =
R2 B
; q = 1.
2
Determine the associated function f : R [0, 1] and check that is possesses the
properties claimed by the Urysohn Lemma.
CHAPTER 5
Product spaces
roduct spaces are to topological spaces what Cartesian products are to sets.
Indeed, given a family of topological spaces, we discuss how to naturally
introduce a product topology on the Cartisan product of the sets underlying
the given topological spaces.
Section 5.1 addresses the case of nite products, and studies basic concepts such
as, for example, continuity of functions into and from a product. We also take up
the question of how properties of the factors, such a separability or the Ti -properties,
transfer to the product space, and vice versa (Theorem 5.1.10).
Section 5.2 turns to innite products, where besides the already mentioned product
topology, there is a second natural choice of topology, referred to as the box topology.
The main goal of this section is to contrast the product and box topologies through
examples of sequences of functions.
5.1. Finite products
Definition 5.1.1. Let (X1 , T1 ),. . . ,(Xn , Tn ) be a collection of n 2 topological
spaces. Then their Cartesian product X1 ...Xn = {(x1 , . . . , xn ) | xi Xi , i = 1, ..., n}
becomes a topological space with the product topology TX1 ...Xn dened as the topology
generated by the basis
(5.1)
The space (X1 ... Xn , TX1 ...Xn ) is called the product of (X1 , T1 ), . . . , (Xn , Tn ) or
simply a product space. We shall refer to the spaces (Xi , Ti ), i = 1, . . . , n as the factors
of (X1 Xn , TX1 Xn ). The functions
i : X 1 X n X i ,
i (x1 , . . . , xn ) = xi ,
80
5. PRODUCT SPACES
W =
with
Ui TX , Vi TY , i I,
iI
81
Both of the sets on the right hand side of the above are open subsets of X Y showing
that (X Y ) (A B) is open and thus that A B is closed.
= Suppose that A B X Y is closed and let x X A be any point. Pick
y B arbitrarily and observe that then (x, y) lies in (X Y ) (A B) which is an
open set. Thus there must be neighborhoods Ux X of x and Vy Y of y such that
Ux Vy (X Y ) (A B). We claim that Ux is disjoint from A. If it were not,
we could pick a point z Ux A giving us the relation (z, y) (Ux Vy ) (A B),
a contradiction since (Ux Vy ) (A B) = . Therefore Ux A = showing that
X A = xXA Ux making X A an open and hence A a closed set. The proof that
B is closed is analogous.
Definition 5.1.5. Let fi : Xi Yi , i = 1, . . . , n be continuous functions and
dene the function
f1 fn : X1 Xn Y1 Yn
by f1 ... fn (x1 , . . . , xn ) = (f1 (x1 ), . . . , fn (xn )). We shall refer to f1 fn as
the product of the functions f1 , . . . , fn and shall call each fi a factor function.
Theorem 5.1.6. Let (X, TX ) and (Y, TY ) be two topological spaces.
(a) The projection maps X : X Y X and Y : X Y Y are continuous,
open and surjective functions.
(b) For any two points x0 X and y0 Y , the two inclusion maps y0 : X X Y
and x0 : Y X Y given by y0 (x) = (x, y0 ) and x0 (y) = (x0 , y), are
continuous functions.
(c) Let (Z, TZ ) be a topological space and let f : Z X Y be a function with
coordinate functions f = (fX , fY ). Then f is continuous if and only if each of
fX : Z X and fY : Z Y is continuous.
(d) A product of nitely many functions is continuous if and only if each of the
factors is continuous.
Proof. (a) Surjectivity of X and Y are obvious. To prove their continuity, let
U X and V Y be open sets. Then
1
X (U ) = U Y
and
1
Y (V ) = X V,
which are both open sets showing that X and Y are continuous.
Let W X Y be an open set and write W = iI Ui Vi with Ui TX and
Vi TY . Then
X (W ) = X (iI Ui Vi ) = iI Ui TX ,
showing that X is an open map. By the same token, so is Y .
(b) To show that y0 : X X Y is continuous we shall rely on part (e) of Theorem
3.1.9, by which it suces to show that 1 (W ) is open for W ranging through a basis
y0
B of TXY . Choosing B = BXY from Equation (5.1), and thus picking W = U V
82
5. PRODUCT SPACES
;
;
y0 V,
y0 V.
/
83
Proof. Clearly y0 is injective and it is continuous by Theorem 5.1.6, part (b). Its
inverse function 1 = X |X{y0 } is also continuous since the restriction of a continuous
y0
function is continuous (Theorem 3.1.11). If Y is T1 then {y0 } is a closed subspace of
Y (Lemma 4.1.3) rendering X {y0 } a closed subspace of X Y by Lemma 5.1.4.
We next explore how properties of topological spaces, such as second countability
and the Hausdor property, transfer from factors to the product space and vice versa.
Theorem 5.1.10. Let X, Y be two topological spaces and let X Y be equipped with
the product topology. Let A and B be chosen from the sets of properties of topological
spaces
Separabiltiy,
Normality ( T1 and T4 ),
First countability,
.
, B
A
Complete Normality ( T1 and T5 ).
Second countability,
T ,T ,T ,T .
0
B = Y follows similarly.
A is Second Countability
Assume that X and Y are second countable and let BX = {Ui | i N} and BY =
{Vj | j N} be two countable bases for X and Y respectively. Dene B as B =
{Ui Vj | i, j N}. This is a countable set of open subsets of X Y . To see that it is
84
5. PRODUCT SPACES
a basis, let W X Y be any open set. By Denition 5.1.1 of the product topology,
we can nd open sets Ai X and Bi Y , i I, such that W = iI Ai Bi . For
each i I, let Ji and Ki be indexing sets such that Ai = jJi Uj and Bi = kKi Vk ,
then
W = iI Ai Bi = iI [(jJi Aj ) (kKi Bk )] = iI,jJi ,kKi Aj Bk .
This shows B to be a basis and thus X Y to be second countable.
A is First Countability
This proof mirrors the one just given for second countability and the details are left to
the reader (Exercise 5.3.3).
A is the T0 property, the T1 propertyor the T2 property.
We address the T0 T2 properties together since their proofs are very similar. Let
(x1 , y1 ) and (x2 , y2 ) be two distinct points in X Y .
T0 : If x1 = x2 , nd either a neighborhood U1 X of x1 that doesnt contain x2 or
else a neighborhood U2 X of x2 that doesnt contain x1 . Then either U1 Y
is a neighborhood of (x1 , y1 ) not containing (x2 , y2 ) or U2 Y is a neighborhood
of (x2 , y2 ) not containing (x1 , y1 ). If x1 = x2 then y1 = y2 and one proceeds in
a similar fashion.
T1 : If x1 = x2 , let U1 , U2 X be neighborhoods of x1 and x2 respectively with
x2 U1 and x1 U2 . Then U1 Y and U2 Y are neighborhoods of (x1 , y1 )
/
/
and (x2 , y2 ) respectively with (x2 , y2 ) U1 Y and (x1 , y1 ) U2 Y . The case
/
/
of y1 = y2 goes similarly.
T2 : If x1 = x2 , let U1 , U2 X be disjoint neighborhoods of x1 and x2 . Then U1 Y
and U2 Y are disjoint neighborhoods of (x1 , y1 ) and (x2 , y2 ) respectively. The
case of y1 = y2 goes accordingly.
A is the T3 property
Assume that X and Y are T3 . Let C X Y be a closed subset and pick a point
(x, y) X Y C. Consider X Y C as a neighborhood of (x, y) and nd
neighborhoods U of x and V of y such that U V X Y C. By regularity of X
we can separate x and the closed set X U by neighborhoods Wx and WXU . Note
that
Wx X WXU = W x X WXU U,
since X WXU is a closed set. In the same vein we nd neighborhoods Wy and
WY V of y and Y V with W y V . Then Wx Wy is a neighborhood of (x, y) with
W x W y U V X Y C so that X Y W x W y becomes a neighborhood
of C. Clearly Wx Wy and X Y W x W y are disjoint.
Corollary 5.1.11. The product X Y is a regular space ( T0 and T3 ) if and only
if each of the factors X, Y is regular.
The following example shows even when X and Y are normal spaces, X Y need
not be, demonstrating that part (b) of Theorem 5.1.10 cannot strengthened.
85
Example 5.1.12. Consider the topological space (X, TX ) = (R, Tll ) where Tll is the
lower limit topology from Example 2.2.14 generated by the subbasis Sll = {[a, b | a, b
R, a < b}. It was already shown in Example 4.2.5 that X is T0 T5 and thus both
(completely) regular and (completely) normal. To see that X X is not T4 with
the product topology consider the subdiagonal = {(x, x) | x X}. Since a, b =
1
[a+ n , b is an open subset of X, it is easy to see that is a closed subset of X X.
n=1
The relative topology on is the discrete one because ([a, a+1 [a, a +1 ) =
{(a, a)}. Therefore, the two disjoint sets
AQ = {(a, a) | a Q}
and
AI = {(a, a) | a I = R Q},
[a, a [a, a
and
aQ
[b, b [b, b .
UI =
bI
and
Y : X Y Y,
are continuous. Indeed, if we assume their continuity, then for any U TX and
1
any V TY , the sets 1 (U ) = U Y and Y (V ) = X V would have to be
86
5. PRODUCT SPACES
d(x, y) =
i=1
|xi yi |
.
2i
The associated metric topology is the relative topology on Y induced by Tbox . On the
other hand, the relative topology on Y induced by Tprod is not a metric topology since
it is not Hausdor. For example, there are no disjoint neighborhoods of xi = 1/i and
yi = 1/i in Tprod .
Example 5.2.3. Pick I = R and let (X , T ) equal the Euclidean line for each
I. To distinguish the copy of R corresponding to I, we shall denote it by R .
Well denote the Cartesian product R R by RR . As in the previous example, we
can interpret RR as a set of functions, namely functions from R to R. We will examine
when a sequence of functions fi RR converges to a function f RR with respect to
the two topologies Tprod and Tbox .
87
Consider rst RR with the product topology, let {fk }k RR be a sequence with
limit f . Let R be arbitrary and let U R be a neighborhood of f (). Consider
the open set in the product topology
U = (< R ) U (> R ).
Then U is a neighborhood of f and so there must exist an integer k such that fk U
for all k k . This last statement is equivalent to saying that fk () U for all k k
which is simply saying that the sequence fk () converges to f () in the Euclidean
topology on R.
Conversely, suppose that for each R, the equation lim fk () = f () holds with
respect to the Euclidean topology on R. Pick any neighborhood of V of f and suppose
that
V = R{1 ,...,n } R (V1 ... Vn ) ,
where 1 , ..., n R are chosen arbitrarily and where V1 , ..., Vn are arbitrary neighborhoods of f (1 ), ..., f (n ) respectively. Then there exists an integer k0 such that
k k0 implies that fk (j ) Vj for all k k0 and for any choice j {1, ..., n}. This
of course is equivalent to saying that fk V showing that lim fk = f with respect to
the product topology. In conclusion, we have shown that convergence of a sequence
of functions in RR with respect to the product topology, is equivalent to pointwise
convergence with respect to the Euclidean topology
lim fk = f in (RR , Tprod )
Next consider RR equipped with the box topology and suppose again that {fk }k
RR is a sequence with limit f . For each R, let U be a neighborhood of f () with
respect to the Euclidean topology on R and let U be the neighborhood of f (with
respect to the box topology) dened as
U = R U .
By assumption, there exists an integer k0 such that k k0 implies that fk U.
The latter inclusion is equivalent to fk () U for every R. If we choose U =
f () , f () + for each R and for some xed > 0, then we nd that
|fk () f ()| < for all k k0 , and for all values of R. The latter says that the
sequence of functions fk : R R converges uniformly to the function f : R R (with
respect to the Euclidean topology on R). Thus
(5.2)
For instance, dene fk : R R as fk (t) = etk . Then, for every xed but arbitrary
t R, the relation lim fk (t) = 0 holds in (R, TEu ) so that lim fk = 0 in (RR , Tprod ).
However, the convergence lim fk (t) = 0 in (R, TEu ) is not uniform (since for every xed
88
5. PRODUCT SPACES
k, the quantity |fk (t)| can be arbitrarily large as we vary t) so that lim fk = 0 in
(RR , Tbox ).
The implication in (5.2) is in one direction only, as evidenced by the next example,
which exhibits a sequence of functions fk : R R that converges uniformly to a
function f : R R, but such that the sequence {fk }k does not converge to f in
(RR , TBox ).
2
2 +k)
ek ek0 < .
On the other hand, {fk }k does not converge to f in (RR , TBox ) for if it did, then for
4
the neighborhood U = R B0 (e ) of f , we should be able to nd an integer k0
with k k0 implying fk U. The latter inclusion is tantamount to the inclusions
4
fk () B0 (e ) for every k k0 and every R. This in turn amounts to having
2
4
the inequality e( +k) < e hold for all k k0 and all R, clearly an impossibility.
5.3. Exercises
5.3.1. Prove the following two claims about nite product spaces.
(a) Given topological spaces (X1 , T1 ), . . . , (Xn , Tn ) show that
(X1 . . . Xn , TX X ) (X1 . . . Xn1 , TX X ) (Xn , Tn ).
=
1
n1
Said dierently, an n-fold product space can be constructed by taking the product of two factors at a time.
(b) For topological spaces (X, TX ) and (Y, TY ), show that
(X Y, TXY ) (Y X, TY X ).
=
Thus, up to homeomorphism, the order of the factors in a product spaced does
not matter.
5.3.2. Let (X, TX ) and (Y, TY ) be two topological spaces, and let A X and B Y
be a pair of given subsets. Viewing A B as a subset of (X Y, TXY ), show that
(a) A B = A B.
(b) (A B) = A B.
(c) (A B) = (A B) (A B).
5.3.3. Show that if X and Y are rst countable spaces, then X Y , equipped with
the product topology, is also a rst countable space.
5.3.4. Prove that BBox and BP rod from Denition 5.2.1, are each a basis of some
topopology.
5.3.5. Fill in the missing details from Example 5.2.2. Namely, let Y RN be the
subset of bounded sequences. Show that
5.3. EXERCISES
89
y
(a) The function d(x, y) = iN |xi2i i | denes a metric on Y .
(b) The associated metric topology Td on Y agrees with the relative box topology
TBox inherited from RN .
(c) Show that the relative product topology on Y is not Hausdor, and thus not
metrizable.
5.3.6. Let (X, TX ) be a topological space and consider X X equipped with the
product topology TXX .
(a) Show that the function : X X X given by (x) = (x, x) is continuous.
(b) Show that X is Hausdor if and only if the image of is a closed subset of
X X.
5.3.7. Consider [0, 1 and [0, 1] each equipped wit the relative Euclidean topology.
Show that with respect to the product topologies, the space [0, 1 [0, 1] is homeomorphic to [0, 1 [0, 1 . Does the same claim hold for the spaces [0, 1] [0, 1] and
[0, 1 [0, 1 ?
5.3.8. For any m, n N, show that (Rn , TEu ) (Rm , TEu ) (Rn+m , TEu ).
=
CHAPTER 6
Compactness
compactness of a space is one of the most fundamental and important properties associated to a topological space, and has far reaching consequences
both for subspaces and maps on the compact space. As the name suggests,
a compact space can be thought of as being small. In that sense, compactness is not unlike the notions of separability and second countability introduced in
Chapter 2, but its impact on properties of the underlying space far surpasses those of
the latter two.
Section 6.1 introduces compactness, provides examples and establishes rst properties of compact spaces. Section 6.2 heeds special attention to compactness on metric
spaces, culminating with the explicit characterization of compactness of Theorem 6.2.10
(see Corollary 6.2.11 for compactness in Euclidean spaces). Section 6.3 studies more
in depth properties of compact spaces, some of which rely on results from Section 6.2.
Section 6.4 studies the One Point Compactication, a procedure for exhibiting any
non-compact space X as a subspace of a compact space obtained by adding just a
single point to X. Finally, Section 6.5 touches on other avors of compactness, namely
Local Compactness, -compactness and Paracompactness.
6.1. Denition and rst examples
Definition 6.1.1. Let (X, TX ) be a topological space.
(a) An open cover F of X is a collection of open subsets of X whose union is all of
X.
(b) A subcover F of F is a subset of F which is still an open cover of X. A proper
subcover of F is any subcover of F not equal to F.
(c) A renement F of F is an open cover of X with the property that for every
U F there exists a V F such that U V .
Definition 6.1.2. A topological space (X, TX ) of compact if every open cover F
of X has a nite subcover.
Example 6.1.3. Any topological space (X, TX ) with TX a nite set, is compact. In
particular, if X is a nite set then (X, TX ) is compact for any choice of a topology TX .
Example 6.1.4. The Euclidean line (R, TEu ) is not compact. This can be seen by
considering the open cover
F = { a 1, a + 1 | a Z}
91
92
6. COMPACTNESS
There are no proper subcovers of F at all, let alone nite subcovers, since each integer
a Z lies in precisely one element of F, namely a 1, a + 1 . A similar argument can
be used to show that the n-dimensional Euclidean space (Rn , TEu ) is also not compact
(Exercise 6.6.1).
Example 6.1.5. Consider the nite complement topology Tf c on R and let F be
an open cover. Pick any U F with U = . Then U = R {x1 , ..., xn } for some points
xi R, i = 1, ..., n. For each xi let Vi F be such that xi Vi (such a Vi has to exist
since F is an open cover). But then {U, V1 , ..., Vn } is a nite subcover of F showing
that (R, Tf c ) is a compact space.
Example 6.1.6. Consider the included point topology Tp on R. The innite open
cover
F = {{p, x} | x R {p} }
has no proper subcovers. Consequently (R, Tp ) is not compact.
Example 6.1.7. Consider the excluded point topology T p on R and let F be any
of its open covers. Since R is the only non-empty open set that contains p, R must be a
member of every open cover. Given this observation, the cover {R} is a nite subcover
of any open cover. Therefore, (R, T p ) is compact.
We turn to some simple properties of compact spaces.
Theorem 6.1.8. Let f : X Y be a map. If X is compact then so is f (X). In
particular, compactness is a topological invariant.
Proof. Let Ff (X) = {Vi | i I} be an open cover of f (X) and consider the open
cover FX = {f 1 (Vi ) | i I} of X. By compactness of X, this latter cover has a
nite subcover FX = {f 1 (Vi1 ), ..., f 1 (Vin )} for some indices i1 , ..., in I. But then
Ff (X) = {Vi1 , ..., Vin } is a nite subcover of Ff (X) .
If f : X Y is a homeomorphism and X is compact, then so if Y , being equal
to f (X). If X is not compact then neither is Y since compactness of Y would imply
that of X, being equal to f 1 (Y ). Thus, two homeomorphic spaces X and Y are either
both compact or both non-compact.
Theorem 6.1.9. Let X and Y be two topological spaces.
(a) If X is compact and A is a closed subspace of X then A is also compact.
(b) If X is Hausdor and A X is a compact subspace then A is closed in X.
Proof. (a) Let FA = {Vi | i I} be an open cover of A and let Ui be open subsets
of X such that Vi = A Ui . Then FX = {X A, Ui | i I} is an open cover of X
and thus has a nite subcover FX that looks like FX = {Ui1 , ..., Uin , X A} or FX =
{Ui1 , ..., Uin } for some choice of indices i1 , ..., in I. In either case, FA = {Vi1 , ..., Vin }
is a nite subcover of FA showing that A is compact.
(b) Fix a point a A. The Hausdor condition guarantees that for every point
x X A there exist disjoint neighborhoods Ua,x and Vx,a of a and x respectively. The
93
94
6. COMPACTNESS
95
1
Proof. For every n N and for the choice of n = n , there is a nite set of points
1
An = {xn , . . . , xnn } X such that X = xAn Bx n . Note that A = nN An is a
1
countable subset of X. We claim that A is also dense. To see this, let U X be any
non-empty open set and let x U be any element. Then there exists an > 0 such
1
1
that Bx () U . Find an integer n large enough so that n < and let x Bxn ( n ) for
i
1
n
n
some i {1, . . . , n }. Then d(x, xi ) < n < showing that xi Bx () U and thus
Remark 6.2.3. Recall from Proposition 2.4.15 that a metric space is second countable if and only if it is separable. In particular, a totally bounded metric space must
be second countable.
Lemma 6.2.4. Let (X, d) be a metric space with the property that every sequence
{xk }k X has a convergent subsequence. Then (X, d) is totally bounded.
Proof. Suppose X were not totally bounded. Then there would be some > 0
so that X cannot be covered by a nite number of balls of radius . Using this,
we can construct a sequence {xk }k X as follows: let x1 be arbitrary and choose
consecutive elements of the sequence so that xk+1 k Bxj (). Notice that it follows
/ j=1
that xm j=1 Bxj () whenever < m.
/
Let yn = xkn be some convergent subsequence of xk with lim yn = y X. Then
there must exist an n0 N such that n n0 implies yn By (/2). Let , m be integers
such that n0 < m, then
d(xk , xkm ) d(xk , y) + d(y, xkm ) = d(y , y) + d(y, ym ) < /2 + /2 = .
This implies that xkm Bxk () which is a contradiction since k < km and by denition,
/
xkm kk Bxk (). Thus X must be totally bounded.
Lemma 6.2.5 (Lindelfs Theorem). If X is a second countable topological space
o
then every open cover F of X has a countable subcover.
Proof. Let B = {Un | n N} be countable basis for X and let F = {Vi | i I}
be an open cover of X. Since each Vi is an open set, there must exist a subset Ji N
such that Vi = jJi Uj . Dene F = {Uj B | j Ji for some i I}. Clearly F is
countable and it is also easy to see that F is an open cover of X. For if x X is an
arbitrary point then there is some i I with x Vi and thus x Uj for some j Ji .
On the other hand, F is a renement of F by denition. For each Uj F , let j I
be such that Uj Vj . Then F = {Vj | Uj F } is a countable subcover of F.
Theorem 6.2.6. A metric space (X, d) is compact if and only if every sequence
{xk }k X has a convergent subsequence.
Proof. = Let X be a compact space and let {xk }k X be an arbitrary
sequence. Suppose that there exists a point y X such that every neighborhood of
y contains innitely many distinct points of the sequence {xk }k . For such a point y
we dene a subsequence yn = xkn of {xk }k as follows: Pick y1 to be any point in
96
6. COMPACTNESS
By (1) {xk | k N}. With y1 , . . . , yn1 chosen, pick yn to be an arbitrary point in the
1
set By ( n ) {xk | k > kn1 }. It is easy to see that {yn }n is a convergent subsequence of
{xk }k with limit y, proving the theorem.
If this doesnt occur, then every y Y possesses a neighborhood Uy that contains
only nitely many distinct points of the sequence {xk }k . Then F = {Uy | y X}
is an open cover of X and so by compactness of X, it has a nite subcover F =
{Uy1 , . . . , Uym }| for some points y1 , . . . , ym X. But then the innite sequence {xk }k
is contained in the nite union Uy1 ... Uy1 showing (by the Pigeon Hole Principle)
that some point y must equal xk for innitely many distinct values k1 , k2 , k3 , . . . of
k. Then the sequence {xk1 , xk2 , xk3 , . . . }, being a constant sequence, is a convergent
subsequence of {xk }k .
= Suppose that every sequence {xk }k X has a convergent subsequence and
let F be an arbitrary open cover of X. Lemma 6.2.4 shows that X is totally bounded,
and hence by Lemma 6.2.2 it is also separable. By virtue of Proposition 2.4.15 (see
Remark 6.2.3) and using Lemma 6.2.5, we see that there must be a countable subcover
G = {U1 , U2 , U3 , . . . } of F.
We will prove the theorem by showing that G has a nite subcover. Assume to
the contrary that G has no nite subcovers. Form a sequence {xk }k X by choosing
k1
x1 X arbitrarily and by picking xk from the set X i=1 Ui for k 2. By the
assumption, there must be a subsequence yn = xkn with converges to some point y X.
Since G is an open cover of X, there must be some index m N with y Um . But
then, by construction, yn Um for all n > m, a contradiction given that lim yn = y.
/
Therefore G, and hence also F, must have a nite subcover. Since the cover F was
arbitrary, it follows that X is compact.
Corollary 6.2.7. Every compact metric space X is totally bounded, separable and
second countable.
Proof. This follows from Theorem 6.2.6 and Lemmas 6.2.2 and 6.2.4 and Remark
6.2.3.
While Theorem 6.2.6 provides a necessary and sucient condition for a metric
space (X, d) to be compact, it is often tedious in practice to check that X has the
property that every of its sequences has a convergent subsequence. We provide a
second characterization of compactness on metric spaces, one which involved easier to
verify conditions. To state that theorem, we rst introduce two additional concepts.
Recall that a sequence {xk }k Rn is said to be a Cauchy sequence (with respect
to the Euclidean topology) if for every > 0 there exists a natural number n0 such
that for all m, n n0 the inequality d2 (xn , xm ) < holds. This denition involves only
the Euclidean metric d2 on Rn and none of the other more advances structures on Rn .
Hence, it easily transfers to any metric space.
Definition 6.2.8. Let (X, d) be a metric space. A sequence {xk }k X is said to
be a Cauchy sequence if for every > 0 there exists a natural number n0 such that for
97
all m, n n0 we obtain d(xn , xm ) < . The metric space (X, d) is said to be a complete
metric space (or simply complete) if every Cauchy sequence is convergent.
Example 6.2.9. Consider Rn equipped with the Euclidean topology associated to
the Euclidean metric d2 . For a subset A Rn , the metric space (A, d2 |AA ) is complete
if and only if A is closed. In particular, (Rn , d2 ) itself is complete.
To see this, suppose that A is closed in Rn and let {xk }k A be a Cauchy sequence.
Every Cauchy sequence is bounded and every bounded sequence in Rn has a convergent
subsequence yn = xkn (these are standard results in analysis whose proofs we omit)
with limit lim yn = y. By Exercise 6.6.3 the sequence {xk }k is then also convergent
with lim xk = y. Since A is closed it must contain the limits of all its convergent
sequences, and thus y A and A is complete.
Conversely, suppose that A is complete. If A werent closed then Rn A wouldnt
be open and we could nd a point y Rn A all of whose neighborhoods intersect A.
1
We could then dene a sequence {xk }k A by choosing xk arbitrarily from By ( k ) A.
1
As d2 (xk , x ) < k + 1 , the sequence {xk }k is Cauchy, creating a contradiction to the
assumption that A is complete and the fact that lim xk = y A. Thus A must be
/
closed.
The following theorem is the main result of this section.
Theorem 6.2.10. A metric space (X, d) is compact if and only if is complete and
totally bounded.
Proof. = Suppose that X is compact. To see that X is complete, let {xk }k
X be any Cauchy sequence. By Theorem 6.2.6 there is a convergent subsequence
yn = xkn of {xk }k with limit y. But then xk itself has to converge to y (Exercise 6.6.3)
showing that X is complete.
To see that X is totally bounded, pick an arbitrary > 0 and consider the open
cover F = {Bx () | x X} of X. By compactness of X, F has a nite subcover,
showing that X is totally bounded.
= Assume that X is complete and totally bounded. We will show that X is
compact by relying on Theorem 6.2.6. Specically, we will show that every sequence
{xk }k X has a convergent subsequence.
Since X is totally bounded, there is a nite cover of X with balls of radius 1, say
F1 = {Bx1,1 (1), ..., Bxn1 ,1 (1)}. Since the sequence {xk }k has innitely many terms,
one of the balls from F1 must contain innitely many elements of the said sequence.
Without loss of generality, assume that Bx1,1 (1) is such a ball. Using total boundedness
1
of X once more, we nd that there is a nite cover F2 = {Bx1,2 ( 1 ), ..., Bxn2 ,2 ( 2 )} of X
2
by balls of radius 1 . Since Bx1,1 (1) contains innitely many elements of the sequence
2
{xk }k , there must be a ball in F2 whose intersection with Bx1,1 (1) contains innitely
many elements of the sequence {xk }k . Again, and without loss of generality, we assume
1
that Bx1,2 ( 2 ) is that ball so that Bx1,1 (1) Bx1,2 ( 1 ) contains innitely many elements
2
1
of the sequence xk . Proceeding inductively, we obtain a family of balls Bx1,k ( k ) of
98
6. COMPACTNESS
shrinking radii such that for any n N the set n Bx1,j ( 1 ) contains innitely many
j=1
j
elements of the sequence {xk }k .
To nd a convergent subsequence of {xk }k , pick indices k1 < k2 < k3 < . . . such that
xkn n Bx1,j ( 1 ) and set yn = xkn . Then yn is a Cauchy sequence since d(yn , ym ) <
j=1
j
1 1
max{ n , m }. Since X is assumed to be complete, yn must be a convergent sequence and
so we have generated a convergent subsequence of {xk }k , as needed. This completes
the proof.
Corollary 6.2.11. Let A be a subspace of n-dimensional Euclidean space Rn .
Then A is compact if and only if it is closed and bounded.
Proof. If A is bounded then it is also totally bounded (Exercise 6.6.2) and if in
addition it is also closed, then it is complete by Example 6.2.9. Theorem 6.2.10 then
shows that A is compact.
Conversely, if A Rn is compact, then by Theorem 6.2.10 is must be complete and
hence closed by Example 6.2.9. Theorem 6.2.10 also shows that A has to be totally
bounded and therefore bounded (Exercise 6.6.2).
Example 6.2.12. The n-dimensional sphere S n is the subspace of Rn+1 consisting
of vectors of norm 1:
S n = {(x1 , ..., xn+1 ) Rn+1 | x2 + ... + x2 = 1}.
1
n+1
It is quite obviously bounded and it is also closed. An easy way to verify closedness
of S n is to consider the continuous function f : Rn+1 R given by f (x1 , ..., xn+1 ) =
x2 + ... + x2 . Then S n = f 1 (1) and {1} R is a closed set. According to Corollary
1
n+1
6.2.11, S n is compact.
6.3. Properties of compact spaces
In this section we return to the investigation of properties of compact spaces already
initiated in Section 6.1. Some of the properties established in this section rely on the
results about metric spaces obtained in the preceding section.
Theorem 6.3.1. Let X be a compact topological space and let f : X R be
a continuous function to the Euclidean line. Then f attains both its maximum and
minimum value.
Proof. By part (b) of Theorem 6.1.9, the image f (X) is a compact subspace of
R. By Corollary 6.2.11, f (X) must be closed and bounded and thus f (X) = [a1 , b1 ]
[an , bn ] for some ai , bi R with ai bi . This shows that both the supremum
sup f (X) = max{b1 , . . . , bn } and the inmum inf f (X) = min{a1 , . . . , an } are contained
in f (X) and are therefore attained at some points xmax , xmin X.
Theorem 6.3.2. Let (X, d) be a metric space and let F be an open cover of X.
If X is compact then there exists a real number L > 0, called the Lebesgue number of
F, such that for every open ball Bx (L) of radius L (and with x X arbitrary), there
exists an element U F with Bx (L) U .
99
100
6. COMPACTNESS
x V V X A.
Proof. = Let X be a T3 space and let A X be a closed set and x X A
any point. By the T3 property there are disjoint open sets Ux , UA X with x Ux
and A UA . From Ux UA = it follows that Ux X UA . Since X UA is a closed
there exists an open set V with x V V X A. We dene the open sets Ux and
respectively. Then A UA and Ux UA = and so X is a T3
UA as V and X V
space.
Proof of Theorem 6.3.4. (a) The proof of this part of the theorem follows
closely the proof of part (c) of Theorem 6.1.9. Let A X be a closed set and x X A
any point. The Hausdor condition guarantees for every a A, the existence of disjoint
neighborhoods Ua,x and Vx,a of a and x respectively. The collection {Ua,x A | a A}
is an open cover of A and, since A is compact (part (a) of Theorem 6.1.9), it has a
nite subcover {Ua1 ,x , . . . , Uan ,x } for some points a1 , . . . , an A. Let Vx = n Vx,ai .
i=1
Clearly Vx is a neighborhood of x but moreover, Vx and A are disjoint. For if not, we
could nd a point y Vx A. Then we would have y Uaj ,x for some j {1, . . . , n}
and on the other hand y Vx Vx,aj , a contradiction since Uaj ,x Vx,aj = . Let
UA = Ua1 ,x Uan ,x . Then A UA and clearly UA Vx = , showing that X is T3 .
To verify the T4 property of X, let A, B X be two disjoint closed subsets of
X. For a xed point b B, let Vb,A and UA,b be disjoint open sets with b Vb,A and
A UA,b . The set FB = {Vb,A | b B} is an open cover of B which, by compactness of
B, (again, part (a) of Theorem 6.1.9), has a nite subcover FB = {Vb1 ,A , . . . , Vbn ,A } for
some points b1 , . . . , bn B. Set VB = n Vbi ,A and UA = n UA,bi . These are open
i=1
i=1
sets containing B and A respectively. Moreover, VB UA = for if we had a point
y VB UA then y would lie in some Vbj ,A and at the same time UA,bj , a contradiction
since these two sets are disjoint by construction. Therefore X is T4 .
(b) Let A, B X be two disjoint and closed subsets of X. According to Lemma
6.3.5, for every point a A there exists a neighborhood Ua of a such that
a Ua Ua X B.
101
b Vb Vb X A,
and the open cover {X B, Vb | b B} has a nite subcover {X B, Vb1 , Vb2 , . . . , Vbn }
(for convenience and without loss of generality, we assume that this cover has as many
elements as the cover {X A, Ua1 , Ua2 , ..., Uan }). We now dene the open sets
U1 = Ua1 Vb1 ,
V1 = Vb1 Ua1 ,
U = Uan (V
V = Vbn (Ua1 Uan ).
n
Observe that Ui Vj = for all indices i, j {1, . . . , n}. Since Vb1 Vbn X A
n
we see that UA = i=1 Ui is an open set containing A and likewise, VB = n Vj is an
j=1
open set containing B. Moreover, the set UA and VB are disjoint for if they were not
then we would obtain Ui Vj = for some indices i, j, an impossibility. Thus X is
T4 .
6.4. The one point compactication
Definition 6.4.1. A compactication of a topological space (X, TX ) is a compact
topological space (Y, TY ) that contains X as a dense subspace.
The goal of this section is to show that compactications always exist for every
space X. We will describe one method for obtaining a compactication called the One
Point Compactication.
If (X, TX ) is already compact then X is its own compactication. If X is not
compact, let p be an abstract point not contained in X and dene Y (as a set) by
Y = X {p}. Dene TY to be the following collection of subsets of Y :
Either p U and U TX ,
/
U Y
or
(6.1) TY =
102
6. COMPACTNESS
We remark that the denition of TY makes it immediate that the subspace topology
on X induced by TY is simply TX . Therefore we can view (X, TX ) as a subspace of
(Y, TY ).
We next turn to the verication of the density of X in Y . Since Y = X {p},
it is clear that X must either be X or Y (since these are the only two subsets of Y
103
as
2x1
2xn
|x|2 1
,..., 2
, 2
|x|2 + 1
|x| + 1 |x| + 1
x = ,
f (x1 , ..., xn ) =
(0, 0, ..., 0, 1)
x = ,
y1
yn
,...,
; y = (0, . . . , 0, 1),
1 yn+1
1 yn+1
f 1 (y1 , ..., yn+1 ) =
; y = (0, . . . , 0, 1).
where |x| =
To see that f and f 1 are continuous we will show that they are open maps. If
U TRn {} is an open set with U or if V S n is an open set with (0, ..., 0, 1) V ,
/
/
then f (U ) and f 1 (V ) are open since f |Rn : Rn S n {(0, ..., 0, 1)} is quite obviously
a homeomorphism (since the coordinate functions of f 1 |S n {(0,...,0,1)} and of f |Rn are
continuous functions).
Next, pick a set U TRn {} with U . According to (6.1), Rn U is a compact
subspace of Rn and so, according to corollary 6.2.11, it is also bounded. This allows
us to pick an R > 0 so that Rn B0 (R) U (where 0 Rn is the origin). But then
B(0,...,0,1) () S n f (U )
with
2
R2
+1
104
6. COMPACTNESS
6.6. EXERCISES
105
then Uy = Y U
it is a compact subspace of a Hausdor space, see part (c) of Theorem 6.1.9). Clearly
Ux Uy = demonstrating that Y is Hausdor.
Corollary 6.5.9. Let X be a locally compact, Hausdor space. Then X is completely regular (part (b) of Denition 4.1.2).
Proof. If X is compact, let (Y, TY ) = (X, TX ) and if X is not compact, let (Y, TY )
be the one point compactication of (X, TX ). Then Y is a compact, Hausdor space
(either by assumption on X or by Theorem 6.5.8) and so Y is a normal space according
to part (a) of Theorem 6.3.4. The Hausdor condition of Y implies that Y has the
T0 property while Corollary 4.5.4 shows that Y is a T3 1 space. The conclusion of
2
the corollary now follows from part (a) of Theorem 4.1.4 by which the subspace of a
completely regular space is again completely regular.
Example 6.5.10. Let X be a locally compact, Hausdor space. Then for any two
distinct points x, y X there is a continuous function f : X R such that f (x) = 0
and f (y) = 1.
6.6. Exercises
6.6.1. Show that (Rn , TEu ) is not compact by nding an explicit open cover of Rn
that has no nite subcovers.
6.6.2. Referring to Denition 6.2.1, prove that
106
6. COMPACTNESS
as
U and U TEu , or
/
TR = U R
.
TR ) is a compact space.
(b) Show that (R,
(c) Show that (R, TEu ) is a dense subspace of (R, TR ).
TR ) is homeomorphic to [0, 1] (with the relative Euclidean topol(d) Show that (R,
ogy on [0, 1]).
Conclude that the two-point compactication of the real line is a segment (of positive
length).
6.6.7. Let (X, d) be a metric space and F1 F2 F3 . . . a sequence of nested,
non-empty compact subspaces of X. Show that if lim diam(Fi ) = 0, then iN Fi
i
consists of a single point.
6.6.8. Which of the following subspaces of (Rn , TEu ) is compact?
(a) The sphere S n1 Rn with nitely many points removed.
(b) The graph f of a map f : [0, 1]n1 R.
(c) The Cantor set C R (part (d) of Example 1.5.1).
6.6.9. Find an example of an open cover of (R, TEu ) that has no (positive) Lebesgue
number (compare to Theorem 6.3.2).
6.6.10. Let (X, d) be a compact metric space.
(a) Show that X has nite diameter.
6.6. EXERCISES
107
CHAPTER 7
0
1
;
;
if x A,
if x X A.
An easy check reveals that f is continuous, contradicting the assumption from part (a)
that X is connected.
109
110
(b)=(c) If X = A B with A and B open, then A and B are also closed (each
being the complement of the other). According to part (b), one of A or B is then the
empty set.
(c)=(a) If f : X {0, 1} is a surjective map, then f 1 ({0}) and f 1 ({1}) are
disjoint subsets of X that are open and closed (since f is continuous and since {0}
and {1} are open and closed subsets of {0, 1}). By surjectivity of f , they are also both
non-empty contradicting part (c). Therefore, no continuous surjection f : X {0, 1}
can exist.
Theorem 7.1.3. Let f : X Y be a continuous function between topological
spaces. If X is connected then so is f (X). In particular, connectedness is a topological
invariant.
Proof. Suppose that f (X) = A B with A, B f (X) disjoint and open sets.
Then f 1 (A) and f 1 (B) are open subsets of X with X = f 1 (A) f 1 (B). By
connectedness of X, one of f 1 (A) or f 1 (B) has to be the empty set, say f 1 (B).
But then B = showing that f (X) is connected.
If X and Y are homeomorphic, each of them is the image of the other under a
continuous map and so they are both connected or both disconnected.
An important corollary of the previous result is the Intermediate Value Theorem.
Corollary 7.1.4 (Intermediate Value Theorem). Let X be a connected space and
f : X R a continuous function and let a, c Im(f ) be two distinct points with a < c.
If b a, c , then there exists and x X with f (x) = b (that is b Im(f )).
Proof. If we could nd an element b a, c Im(f ), we could write
f (X) = (f (X) , b ) (f (X) b, ) .
This would imply disconnectedness of f (X), contradicting the previous theorem and
the assumption that X is connected.
Example 7.1.5. If X = {x} is a set with only a single point, then it is connected
for there is no surjection from a set with one element onto a set with two elements.
Example 7.1.6. The excluded point topology makes R into a connected space.
This follows from the observation that if R = A B with A, B open, then if p A we
get A = R and if p B then B = R. In either case, A and B can only be disjoint if
one of them is the empty set.
Example 7.1.7. The set of rational number Q R with its
relative Euclidean
topology, is disconnected. This can be seen by setting A = , 2 Q and B =
111
and
112
with
Ux = {W X | x W and W is connected}.
113
and
B = , Y,
114
To see that these are indeed the components of Y , note rstly that each of U and V
is homeomorphic to R and therefore connected (Theorem 7.1.10). To see that U+ is
a maximal connected subspace of Y , let A, B R2 be the open and disjoint subsets
given by
A = {(x, y) R2 | x < |y|}
and
(c) Given two paths , : [0, 1] X with (1) = (0), we dene the product path
: [0, 1] X of and as
1
; t [0, 2 ],
(2t)
(t) =
1
(2t 1)
; t [ 2 , 1].
A couple of remarks are in order. If x is joined to y by means of a path , then
y is joined to x by the path . The function from part (c) of Denition 7.2.1 is
7.2. PATH-CONNECTEDNESS
115
and
B = 1 (B),
are both open (since is continuous), non-empty (since 0 A and 1 B ) and disjoint
(since A and B are disjoint) subsets of [0, 1]. This implies that [0, 1] is disconnected, a
contradiction to Theorem 7.1.10. Therefore X must be connected.
Example 7.2.5. Euclidean n-dimensional space (Rn , TEu ) is path-connected and
hence also connected. Given any two points x, y Rn , the path : [0, 1] Rn given
by (t) = x + t(y x) starts at x and ends at y.
Example 7.2.6. For any point x Rn and for any r > 0, the ball Bx (r) is
path-connected (and thus also connected). This is seen by observing that every point
y Bx (r) can be connected to x via the path y : [0, 1] Bx (r) dened by y (t) =
y + t(x y). Given any pair of points y1 , y2 Bx (r), the path y1 y2 connects y1 to
y2 .
Example 7.2.7. (Of a connected but not path connected space) Let X be the topologists sine curve from Example 2.2.15, that is let X be the subspace of the Euclidean
plane (R2 , TEu ) given by
1
X = {(x, sin x ) | x 0, 1]} ({0} [0, 1]) R2 .
1
Note that the set Y1 = {(x, sin( x )) | x 0, 1]} X is homeomorphic to 0, 1] and is
A = 1 (y-axis X),
is a closed subset of [0, 1] and it is nonempty since it contains 0. Let t0 A be any
point and suppose that (t0 ) = (0, b0 ) for some b0 [0, 1]. Consider the neighborhood
116
V of (0, b0 ) in X given by
V =
1
1 , 1 b0 2 , b0 +
2 2
1
2
X.
.....
0.5
0.5
.....
0.5
Figure 1. The path-connected components of V for the case of (t0 ) =
(0, 0). The picture looks similar for lather values of (t0 ).
With our investigations of connectedness and path-connectedness thus far, we can
now partially answer Question 3.4.1 about when Euclidean n-space (Rn , TEu ) and Euclidean m-space (Rm , TEu ) can be homeomorphic.
Corollary 7.2.8. If the Euclidean line (R, TEu ) is homeomorphic to Euclidean
n-dimensional space (Rn , TEu ), then n = 1.
Proof. Suppose that f : R Rn is a homeomorphism. Then f |R{0} : R {0}
R {f (0)} is also a homeomorphism. However, R {0} is not an interval and
is therefore not connected by Theorem 7.1.10. On the other hand, we claim that
Rn {f (0)} is even path-connected, and therefore connected, when n 2. To see this,
let x, y Rn be any two points and consider the straight line path (t) = x + t(y x).
n
7.2. PATH-CONNECTEDNESS
117
If f (0) does not lie on , then is a path in Rn {f (0)} from x to y. If f (0) does
lie on , let z Rn be any point not collinear with x and y and consider the straight
line paths (t) = x + t(z x) and (t) = z + t(y z) connecting x to z and z to y
respectively. Then is a path from x to y in Rn {f (0)} showing that Rn {f (0)} is
path-connected. Since connectedness is a topological invariant, it follows that n must
be 1.
Theorem 7.2.9. An open subset U of Euclidean space Rn is connected if and only
if it is path connected.
Proof. In view of Theorem 7.2.4, we only need to show that if U is connected
then it is also path-connected. Let x U be any point and dene
A = {y U | x and y can be joined by a path in U },
B = {y U | x and y can not be joined by a path in U }.
Clearly X = A B and A = since x A. We will show that both A and B are open
subsets of U . Since U is connected, this will imply that B = and A = U , as desired.
To see that A is open, let y A be any point and let : [0, 1] U be a path joining
x to y. Let > 0 be such that By () U and for any z By () let z : [0, 1] U
be the radial path from y to z, that is z (t) = (1 t) y + t z. Then z is a path
from x to z showing that By () A. Since y A was arbitrary, we conclude that A
is open.
To see that B is open, we proceed similarly. Let y B be any point and let > 0
be such that By () U . If there were a point z By () A, there would have to be
a path : [0, 1] U from z to x. Letting z be as in the previous paragraph, the
product path z would be a path from y to x contradicting our choice of y B.
Therefore By () is contained in B and hence B is open.
Theorem 7.2.10. Let (X, TX ) and (Y, TY ) be topological spaces and let X Y be
given the product topology. Then X Y is (path-)connected if and only if each of X
and Y are (path-)connected.
Proof. Since X and Y get surjected on by the projection maps X : X Y X
and Y : X Y Y , (path-)connectedness of X Y implies that of X and Y (Theorem
7.1.3 and Theorem 7.2.3).
In the other direction, assume that X and Y are connected. Note that each of
X {y0 },
{x0 } Y
118
y1 . But
[(X {y0 }) ({x0 } Y )] [(X {y1 }) ({x0 } Y )] = {x0 } Y,
so that both of (X {y0 }) ({x0 } Y ) and (X {y1 }) ({x0 } Y ) lie in the same
set, either A or B. Since y0 , y1 Y were completely arbitrary, we see that all of X Y
lies in either A or B. Thus, one of A or B has to be the empty set, as claimed.
Finally, if X and Y are path-connected then so is X Y . Namely, given two points
(x1 , y1 ), (x2 , y2 ) (X Y ), let : [0, 1] X and : [0, 1] Y be paths joining x1 to
x2 and y1 to y2 respectively. Then : [0, 1] X Y is a path joining (x1 , y1 ) to
(x2 , y2 ).
The following lemma is the path-connectedversion of Lemma 7.1.14.
Lemma 7.2.11. Let (X, TX ) be a topological space and Yi X, i I be a family
of path-connected subspaces. If iI Yi = then iI Yi is a path-connected subspace of
X.
Proof. Let p iI Yi be any point and for x Yi , let x be a path in Yi
connecting x to p. Given any x, y iI Yi , the path x y connects x to y.
Definition 7.2.12. Let (X, TX ) be a topological space. A path-connected component of X is any maximal path-connected subspace U of X. Maximallity here refers
to the property that if V is a path-connected subspace of X with U V then U = V .
Example 7.2.13. The topologists sine curve dened in Example 2.2.15 and considered again in Example 7.2.7, has two path connected components, namely Y1 =
1
{(x, sin x ) R2 | x 0, 1]} and Y2 = {0} [0, 1], but only has one connected component.
The following is the analogue of Theorem 7.1.16 for the path-connected case.
Theorem 7.2.14. Let (X, TX ) be a topological space.
(a) X is the disjoint union of its path-connected components.
(b) X is path-connected if and only if it has a single path-connected component.
Proof. (a) For a given x X, the path-connected component Vx containing it
can be obtained as
Vx = V V V
with
The set Vx is path-connected by Lemma 7.2.11, and it is clearly maximal with respect
to this property. Two path-connected components U, V X are disjoint for if they
were not, Lemma 7.2.11 would imply that U V is also path-connected, contradicting
the maximallity of both U and V .
(b) This proof is the complete analogue of the proof of part (c) of Theorem 7.1.16
and is left as an exercise.
Unlike in the case of connectedness (part (b) of Theorem 7.1.16), a path-connected
component of X need not be closed nor open.
119
Example 7.2.15. Consider the topologists sine curve X from Examples 2.2.15 and
7.2.7). The two subsets Y1 , Y2 X dened as
Y1 = {(x, sin 1/x) | x 0, 1]},
120
In
n=0
with
In =
1
{(x, n x) R2 | x [0, 1]} ;
n N,
n = 0.
latter. However, X is not locally connected and hence also not locally path connected.
1
To see this, consider the point x0 = (1, 0) X and its neighborhood U = Bx0 ( 2 ) X.
Then U contains no connected neighborhood of x0 . For if V U were a connected
neighborhood of x0 , we could nd some > 0 so that Bx0 () X V . But every
such set has innitely many path connected (and hence connected) components as is
evident from Figure 2.
Bx0 ()
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Bx0 ()
7.4. EXERCISES
121
122
(a) Y is disconnected.
(b) Y is disconnected.
7.4.10. Show that a connected and locally path-connected space is path-connected.
CHAPTER 8
Quotient spaces
if and only if
(x1 ) = (x2 ).
Then the function (X/) (X/ ) given by x [x] is a bijection of quotient sets.
induces P Given an equivalence relation on X, we dene the partition P on
X by
P = {[x] | x X},
123
124
8. QUOTIENT SPACES
where [x] is as in part (b) of Denition 8.1.1. The function (X/ ) (X/P) given
by [x] [x] (where [x] is thought of an equivalence class and as an element of the
partition P respectively) is again a bijection between quotient sets.
P induces Let P = {Pi | i I} be a partition of X with Pi = for all i I.
We dene : X Y by setting Y = I and
(x) = i
if
x Pi .
The quotient sets (X/P) and (X/) are equal by Denition 8.1.1.
Notice that our considerations establish the commutativity of the diagram below
in which each map is a bijection.
/ {Equivalence relations on X.}
Surjections : X Y .
O
gggg
gggg
gggg
gggg
sgggg
Partitions P = {Pi | i I}
of X with Pi = , i I.
Example 8.1.2. Let X = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}, let Y = {e, o} and dene : X Y by
(1) = (3) = (5) = o
and
if and only if
b a is even.
Finally, let P be the partition of X given by P = {{1, 3, 5}, {2, 4, 6}}. Then , and
P are related as above and each of X/, X/ and X/P, is a set of two elements.
With these preliminaries out of the way, we now turn to the topology of quotient
sets. We state our denition in terms of a surjective function : X Y though we
could equally well use equivalence relations or partitions.
Definition 8.1.3. Let (X, TX ) be a topological space, let Y be a any non-empty
set and let : X Y be a surjective function.
(a) The quotient topology TX/ on Y , induced by X and (or simply the quotient
topology), is dened by
TX/ = {U Y | 1 (U ) TX }.
(b) For topologies TX and TY on X and Y respectively, the surjective function
: (X, TX ) (Y, TY ) is called a quotient map if it has the property that
U TY
if and only if
1 (U ) TX .
and
1 (iI Ui ) = iI 1 (Ui ),
where Ui Tx/ , i I (these two equalities were the subject of Exercise 3.5.1).
125
Remark 8.1.4. While Denition 8.1.3 seemingly denes two new terms, those of
a quotient space and of a quotient map, each of these determines the other. It is easy
to see (Exercise 8.7.1) that : (X, TX ) (Y, TY ) is a quotient map if and only if
TY = TX/ .
We postpone the exploration of concrete examples of quotient spaces for the moment
and turn to some of their general properties instead.
Proposition 8.1.5. Let (X, TX ) be a topological space, let : X Y be a surjective function onto the set Y and let TX/ be the associated quotient topology.
(a) The quotient map : (X, TX ) (Y, TX, ) is continuous.
(b) The quotient topology TX/ on Y is the nest topology (Denition 2.1.3) for
which is continuous. Said dierently, if TY is any topology on Y for which
: (X, TX ) (Y, TY ) continuous, then TY TX, .
(c) If f : (X, TX ) (Y, TY ) is a continuous surjection that is additionally also
either open or closed, then f is a quotient map.
Proof. (a) Immediate from Denition 8.1.3.
(b) If TY is a topology on Y for which the map : X Y is continuous, then for
every U TY the set 1 (U ) belongs to TX . Thus any such U automatically lies in
TX/ verifying the claim.
(c) Let f : (X, TX ) (Y, TY ) be a continuous surjection and let U TY be any
set. By continuity of f , f 1 (U ) lies in TX . Suppose that f is also an open map and
that U TY is a set such that f 1 (U ) TX . The openness property of f implies then
that the set f (f 1 (U )) = U is open in Y . Thus TY = {U Y | f 1 (U ) TX } is the
quotient topology associated to X and f .
If f is closed rather than open and U Y is again a set with f 1 (U ) TX , then
X f 1 (U ) is a closed set and hence so is f (X f 1 (U )) = Y U . Thus U is again
an open set and we arrive at the same conclusion.
We next investigate when functions on a quotient space are continuous. For this
purpose, let (X, TX ) be topological space, let : X Y be a surjection and assume
that Y is given the quotient topology TX/ . Let (Z, TZ ) be another topological space
~~
~~
~~ f
~~~
Z
(x1 ) = f (x2 ), a fact that we will express by saying
f (y) = f (xy )
xy 1 (y).
126
8. QUOTIENT SPACES
f : X Z given by f = f , is continuous.
1 (f 1 (V )) = (f )1 (V ) = f 1 (V ),
/
X
O
>Y
g
~
~~
~~
~ g
~~
Z
But given a continuous function g : Z Y , there need not be a continuous function
g : Z X with g = g . Instances of this type abound, for illustration see Examples
?? and ??.
In the concrete examples of quotient spaces considered in Section 8.2, it will sometimes prove advantageous to construct a quotient space in several stages. What is
meant by this is that we rst form an intermediatequotient space from a given space
X, say by moding out by a partition P1 of X, and then further moding out by a partition P2 of X/P1 to arrive at (X/P1 )/P2 . The next theorem show that the latter can
be arrived at by just a single quotient space construction.
Theorem 8.1.7. Let (X, TX ) be a topological space, let P1 = {Ui X | i I1 } be
a partition of X and let P2 = {Vi X/P1 | i I2 } be a partition of X/P1 . Then
(X/P1 )/P2 X/P3 ,
=
1
where P3 is the partition of X given by P3 = {Wi X | Wi = 1 (Vi ), i I2 }. Here
1 : X X/P1 is the quotient map.
Proof. Let 2 : (X/P1 ) (X/P1 )/P2 and 3 : X X/P3 be the additional two
quotients maps. Note that as sets, each of (X/P1 )/P2 and X/P3 are dened to equal
the indexing set I2 . Thus we dene f : (X/P1 )/P2 X/P3 to simply be the identity.
The four maps 1 , 2 , 3 and f t into the commutative diagram:
X
3
f =id
X/P3
127
X/P1
(X/P1 )/P2
Y1
X2
Y2
128
8. QUOTIENT SPACES
x
a
;
;
x X A,
x A,
and note that is surjective. The space (Y, TX/ ) is typically denoted by (X/A, TX/A )
and referred to as the quotient of X by A. Note that it is the quotient space X/PA
associated to the partition PA = {A, {x} | x X A} of X.
Construction 8.1.11 (Gluing of topological spaces). Let (X1 , T1 ) and (X2 , T2 ) be
two disjoint topological spaces, let A X1 be a given subspace and let f : A X2 be
a continuous function. Let X = X1 X2 equipped with the topology TX = TX1 TX2
(that is U TX if and only if U Xi TXi , i = 1, 2) and consider the partition P of
X dened by
P = {{x}, {y} f 1 (y) | x X1 A, y X2 }.
The space Y = X/P is denoted by Y = X1 f X2 and is said to have been obtained by
gluing X1 to X2 along A by using the function f : A X2 . (which we will typically
abbreviate by simply saying X1 f X2 is obtained by gluing X1 to X2 ). Note that Y
is constructed by identifying points x A to their image f (x) Y . Points x X1 A
and points y X2 f (A) do not get identied with other points.
Example 8.1.12. Let Dn = {x Rn | ||x|| 1} and S n1 = {x Rn | ||x|| = 1}
be the n-dimensional closed ball and the (n 1)-dimensional sphere, each equipped
with the relative Euclidean topology. Since S n1 Dn , it makes sense to form the
quotient space Dn /S n1 (Construction 8.1.10).
The main goal of this example is to establish the existence of a homeomorphism
f : (Dn /S n1 , TDn /S n1 ) (S n , TEu ).
To dene the function f , we rst introduce a couple of auxiliary functions. Let g1 :
Int(Dn ) Rn be the homeomorphism given by (Exercise 8.7.2)
ln 1+||x|| x
; x = 0,
1||x||
||x||
g1 (x) =
0
; x = 0,
and let g2 : Rn S n {(1, 0, ..., 0} be the homeomorphism
g2 (y1 , ..., yn ) =
2y1
2y2
2yn
||y||2 1
,
,...,
,
||y||2 + 1 ||y||2 + 1
||y||2 + 1 ||y||2 + 1
; x Dn S n1 ,
g2 (g1 (x))
f (x) =
(0, ..., 0, 1)
; x = s.
129
(Theorem 8.1.6). From its denition, it is evident that f is continuous at all points
n
x Int(D ) so we are left with verifying that this remains true for x0 S n1 . Noting
2 2
r
exp
2 2
r
1 1
R=
where
exp(t) = et ,
1 +1
; (x1 , ..., xn ) X1 ,
(x1 , ..., xn , 1 x2 ... x2 )
1
n
g (x1 , ..., xn ) =
3.1.12 after observing that the subsets X1 and X2 are closed in X1 X2 . Finally, g is
a bijection since it has in inverse function, namely
; yn+1 0,
(y1 , ..., yn ) X1
1
g (y1 , ..., yn+1 ) =
(y , ..., y ) X
; yn+1 0.
1
n
2
Since S n is compact and since X1 f X2 is Hausdor (which we leave as an easy exercise), it follows from Corollary 6.1.10 that g is a homeomorphism. Figure 1 illustrates
the formation of X1 f X2 from X1 and X2 .
130
X1
X2
8. QUOTIENT SPACES
X1
X2
X1 f X2
Figure 1. An illustration of the creation of the identication space
X1 f X2 from Example 8.1.13. Each of Xi is a copy of the closed unit
ball Dn (n being 2 in this illustration) and the gluing map f : X1 X2
is the identity.
Example 8.1.14. Consider the Euclidean line (R, TEu ) and let A R be the
subset of all integers A = Z. Using the notation from Construction 8.1.10, we form
the quotient space R/Z. Visually, we think of R/Z as having been gotten by collapsing
Z R to a single point, as in Figure 2. This representation of R/Z is not unlike that
of the Hawaiian earrings H from Example 2.2.17 (also shown in Figure 2). Recall that
H is the union Cn of the circles
n=1
Cn = {(x, y) R2 | (x
1 2
1
) + y 2 = 2 },
n
n
2, 1
131
(x 1)2 + y 2 = 1
1, 0
1
(x 2 )2 + y 2 =
1
4
0, 1
4, 5
1, 2
3, 4
2, 3
(a)
(b)