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Topological Spaces: Definition 2.1 A
Topological Spaces: Definition 2.1 A
Topological Spaces: Definition 2.1 A
Topological Spaces
1. Introduction
In Chapter I we looked at properties of sets, and in Chapter II we added some additional structure
to a set a distance function . to create a pseudometric space. We then looked at some of the
most basic definitions and properties of pseudometric spaces. There is much more, and some of
the most useful and interesting properties of pseudometric spaces will be discussed in Chapter IV.
But in Chapter III we look at an important generalization.
Early in Chapter II we observed that the idea of continuity (in calculus) depends on talking about
nearness, so we used a distance function . to make the idea of nearness precise. The result
was that we could carry over the definition of continuity from calculus to pseudometric spaces.
The distance function . also led us to the idea of an open set in a pseudometric space. From there
we developed properties of closed sets, closures, interiors, frontiers, dense sets, continuity, and
sequential convergence.
One important observation was that open (or closed) sets are all we need to work with many of
these concepts; that is, we can often do what we need using the open sets without knowing what
specific . that generated these open sets: the topology g. is what really matters. For example,
cl E is defined in \ . in terms of the closed sets so cl E doesn't change if . is replaced with a
different but equivalent metric . w one that generates the same open sets. Changing . to an
equivalent metric . w also doesn't affect interiors, continuity, or convergent sequences. In
summary: for many purposes . is logically unnecessary (although . might be a handy tool) after
. has done its job in creating the topology g.
This suggests a way to generalize our work. For a particular set \ we can simply add a
topology that is, a collection of open sets given without any mention of a pseudometric that
might have generated them. Of course when we do this, we want these open sets to behave
the way open sets should behave. This leads us to the definition of a topological space.
2. Topological Spaces
Definition 2.1 A topology g on a set \ is a collection of subsets of \ such that
i) g \ g
ii) if S g for each E then +E S+ g
iii) if S" S8 g then S" S8 g
A set S \ is called open if S g . The pair \ g is called a topological space.
103
We emphasize that in a topological space there is no distance function . : therefore concepts like
distance between two points and %-ball make no sense in \ g There is no preconceived
idea about what open means; to say S is open means nothing more or less than S g .
In a topological space \ g , we can go on to define closed sets and isolated points just as we
did in pseudometric spaces.
Definition 2.2 A set J \ g is called closed if X J is open, that is, if \ J g .
Definition 2.3 A point + \ g is called isolated if +} is open, that is, if + g
The proof of the following theorem is the same as it was for pseudometric spaces; we just take
complements and apply properties of open sets.
Theorem 2.4 In any topological space \ g
i) g and \ are closed
ii) if J is closed for each + E then E J is closed
iii) if J" J8 are closed, then 833 J3 is closed.
More informally, ii) and iii) state that intersections and finite unions of closed sets are closed.
Proof Read the proof for Theorem II.4.2.
For a particular topological space \ g , it is sometimes possible to find a pseudometric . on \
for which g. g that is, a . which generates exactly the same open sets as those already
given in g . But this cannot always be done.
Definition 2.5 A topological space \ g is called pseudometrizable if there exists a
pseudometric . on \ such that g. g If . is a metric, then \ g is called metrizable.
Examples 2.6
1) Suppose \ is a set and g g \ g is called the trivial topology on \ and it is the
smallest possible topology on \ . \ g is called a trivial topological space. The only open (or
closed) sets are g and \
If we put the trivial pseudometric . on \ , then g. g So a trivial topological space
turns out to be pseudometrizable.
At the opposite extreme, suppose g c \. Then g is called the discrete topology on
\ and it is the largest possible topology on \ \ g is called a discrete topological space.
Every subset is open (and also closed). Every point of \ is isolated.
If we put the discrete unit metric . (or any equivalent metric) on \ , then g. g So a
discrete topological space is metrizable.
104
Sierpinski space. In this case it is not possible to find a pseudometric . on \ for which g. g ,
so Sierpinski space is not pseudometrizable. To see this, consider any pseudometric . on \ .
If .! " !, then . is the trivial pseudometric on \ and g \ g. g .
If .! " $ !, then the open ball F$ ! ! g. so g. g
(In this case g. is actually the discrete topology: . is just a rescaling of the
discrete unit metric.)
Another possible topology on \ ! "} is g w g ! \, although \ g and \ g w
seem very much alike: both are two-point spaces, each with containing exactly one isolated
point. One space can be obtained from the other simply renaming ! and " as " and !
respectively. Such topologically identical spaces are called homeomorphic. We will give a
precise definition of what this means later in this chapter.
105
1
1
4
29
355
6942
209527
9535241 (many less than "!$) )
Counting topologies on finite sets is really a question about combinatorics and we will not pursue
that topic.
Each concept we defined for pseudometric spaces can be carried over directly to topological
spaces if the concept was defined in topological terms that is in terms of open (or closed) sets.
This applies, for example, to the definitions of interior, closure, and frontier in pseudometric
spaces, so these definitions can also be carried over verbatim to a topological space \ g
As before, we will drop the subscript \ when the context makes it clear.
The properties for the operators cl, int, and Fr (except those that mention a pseudometric . or
an %-ball) remain true. The proofs in the preceding chapter were deliberately phrased in
topological terms so they would carry over to the more general setting of topological spaces.
106
1) a) int E is the largest open subset of E (that is, if S is open and O E, then
S int E).
b) E is open iff E int E (since int E E, the equality is equivalent to
E int E.
c) B int E iff there is an open set S such that B S E
2) a) cl E is the smallest closed set containing E (that is, if J is closed and J E,
then J cl E ).
b) E is closed iff E cl E (since E cl E the equality is equivalent to
cl E E)
c) B cl E iff for every open set S containing B, S E g
3) a) Fr E is closed and Fr E Fr (X E).
b) B Fr E iff for every open set S containing B, S E g and
S \ E g
c E is clopen iff Fr E g.
See the proof of Theorem II.4.5
At this point, we add a few additional facts about these operators. Some of the proofs are left as
exercises.
Theorem 2.9 shows us that complements, closures, interiors and frontiers are interrelated and
therefore some of these operators are redundant. That is, if we wanted to very economical, we
107
could discard some of them. For example, we could avoid using Fr and int and just use cl
and complement because Fr E cl E cl \ E and int E E Fr E
E cl E cl \ E. Of course, the most economical way of doing things is not
necessarily the most convenient. (Could we get by only using complements and Fr that is,
can we define int and cl in terms of Fr and complements? Or could
we use just int and complements? )
Here is a famous related problem from the early days of topology: for E \ g , is there an
upper bound for the number of different subsets of \ which might created from E using only
complements and closures, repeated in any order? (As we just observed, using the interior and
frontier operators would not help to create any additional sets.) For example, one might start
with E and then consider such sets as cl E, \ clE cl\ cl\ E and so on. An old
theorem of Kuratowski (1922) says that for any set E in any space \ g , the upper bound is 14.
Moreover, this upper bound is sharp there is a set E from which 14 sets can actually be
obtained! Can you find such a set?
3. Subspaces
108
If E is a subset of a space \ g , then there is a natural way to make E into a topological space.
We use the open sets in \ to define open sets in E
Definition 3.1 Suppose E \ , where \ g is a topological space. The subspace topology on
E is defined as gE E S S g }. E gE is called a subspace of \ g
(Check that gE is actually a topology on E. To say that E is a subspace of \ g implies
that E is given the topology gE To emphasize that E is a subspace, we sometimes write
E \ g rather than just E \
If E \ , we sometimes refer to S E as the restriction of S to E or the trace of S on E
Example 3.2 Consider , where has its usual topology. For each 8 , the interval
8 " 8 " is open in . Therefore 8 " 8 " 8 is open in the subspace , so
every point 8 is isolated in the subspace. The subspace topology is the discrete topology. Notice:
the subspace topology on is just what we would get if we used the usual metric on to
generate open sets in . Similarly, it is easy to check that in # the subspace topology on the
B-axis is the same as the usual metric topology on .
Suppose E \ .. Then we can think of two ways to make E into a topological space.
i) . gives a topology g. on \ . Take the open sets in g. and intersect them
with E. This gives us the subspace topology on E, which we call g. E and
E g. E is a subspace of \ g
2) Or, we could treat E as a pseudometric space: just use . to measure distances
in E. To be very precise, . \ \ , so we make a new pseudometric
. w defined by . w .lE E. Then E .w is a pseudometric space and we can
use . w to generate open sets in E: the topology g.w (Usually, we would be less
compulsive about the notation and just use . also to refer to the pseudometric
n E But for just a moment it will help to distinguish . and . w .lE E
with different names.)
It turns out (fortunately) that 1) and 2) produce the same open sets in E the open sets in E . w
are just the open sets from \ . restricted to E That's just what Theorem 3.3 says (in fancier
notation).
Theorem 3.3 Suppose E \ ., where . is a pseudometric: then g. E g. w .
Proof Suppose Y g. E , so Y S E where S g. . Let E Y . There is an % ! such
w
that F%. + S Since . w .lE E, we get that F%. + F%. + E S E Y ,
so Y g. w .
w
109
4. Neighborhoods
Definition 4.1 If R \ g and B int R , then we say that N is a neighborhood of B
The collection aB R \ R is a neighborhood of B is called the neighborhood system
at B
Note that
1) aB g, because every point B has at least one neighborhood for example,
R \
2) If R" and R# aB , then B int R" int R# (why?) int R" R# .
Therefore R" R# aB .
3) If R aB and R R w , then B int R int R w , so R w aB (that is, if
R w contains a neighborhood of B, then R w is also a neighborhood of B.)
Just as in pseudometric spaces, it is clear that a set S in \ g is open iff O is a neighborhood of
each of its points.
In a pseudometric space, we use the %-balls centered at B to measure nearness to B. For
example, saying that every %-ball in centered at B contains an irrational number tells us that
there are irrational numbers arbitrarily near to B. Of course, we could convey the same
information in terms of neighborhoods by saying every neighborhood of B in contains an
irrational number. Or instead we could say it in terms of open sets: every open set in
containing B contains an irrational number. These are all equivalent ways to say there are
irrational numbers arbitrarily near to B. That we can say it all these different ways isn't
surprising since, in \ . open sets and neighborhoods were defined in terms of %-balls.
In a topological space \ g we don't have %-balls, but we still have open sets and
neighborhoods. We now think of the neighborhoods in aB (or, if we prefer, the collection of
open sets containing B) as the tool we use to talk about nearness to B.
For example, suppose \ has the trivial topology g . For any B \ the only neighborhood of B
is \ : therefore every C in \ is in every neighborhood of B the neighborhoods of B are unable
to separate B and C and that's analogous to having .B C ! (if we had a pseudometric). In
that sense, all points in \ g are very close together: so close together, in fact, that they are
indistinguishable. The neighborhoods of B tell us this.
At the opposite extreme, suppose \ has the discrete topology g and that B \ If B [ then
(since [ is open), [ is a neighborhood of B. R B is the smallest neighborhood of B. So
every point B has a neighborhood R that excludes all other points C: for every C B, we could
say C is not within the neighborhood R of B. This is analogous to saying C is not within % of
B (if we had a pseudometric). Because no point C is within R of B we call B isolated. The
neighborhoods of B tell us this.
110
iv) UB aB
Which UB to use is our choice: each of i)-iv) gives a neighborhood base at B. But ii) and iii)
might be more convenient: each of those gives a countable family UB as a neighborhood base. (If
\ , for example, with the usual metric . , then the collections UB in i) and iv) are uncountable
collections.) Of the four, iii) is probably the simplest choice for UB .
Suppose we want to check whether some property that involving neighborhoods of B is true.
Often all we need to do is to check whether the property holds for the simpler neighborhoods in
UB . For example, in \ . S is open iff O contains a neighborhood R of each B S But
that is true iff S contains a set F " B from UB .
8
Therefore an efficient choice of the simplest possible neighborhood base UB at each point B
is desirable.
111
Definition 4.4 We say that a space \ g satisfies the first axiom of countability (or, more
simply, that \ g is first countable) if at each point B \ , it is possible to choose a countable
neighborhood base UB
Example 4.5
1) The preceding Example 4.3 shows that every pseudometric space is first countable.
2) If g is the discrete topology on \ then \ g is first countable. In fact, at each
point B, we can choose a neighborhood base consisting of a single set: UB B
3) Let g be the cofinite topology on an uncountable set \ . For any B \ , there cannot
be a countable neighborhood base UB at B.
To see this, suppose that we had a countable neighborhood base at B
UB F" F8 For any C B C is closed so \ C is a
neighborhood of B. Therefore for some 5 , B int F5 F5 \ C, so
C
8" int F8 . But B
8" int F8 so
8" int F8 B.
int
F
.
Since
\
int
F
is
finite
(why?), this would mean that
8
8
8"
\ B is countable which is impossible.
Since any pseudometric space is first countable, the example gives us another way to see that this
space \ g is not pseudometrizable.
For a given topology g on \ , all the neighborhood systems aB are completely determined by the
topology g , but UB is not. As the preceding examples illustrate, there are usually many possible
choices for UB . (Can you describe all the spaces \ g for which UB is uniquely determined at
each point B ?)
On the other hand, if we were given UB at each point B \ we could
1) reconstruct the whole neighborhood system aB :
aB R \ bF UB such that B F R , and then we could
2) reconstruct the whole topology g :
g S S is a neighborhood of each of its points
S aB S bF UB B F S, that is,
S is open iff S contains a basic neighborhood of each of its points.
112
5. Describing Topologies
How can a topological space be described? If \ ! ", it is simple to give a topology by just
writing g g ! \ However, describing all the sets in g explicitly is often not the easiest
way to go.
In this section we look at three important, alternate ways to define a topology on a set. All of
these will be used throughout the remainder of the course. A fourth method by using a
closure operator is not used much nowadays. It is included just as an historical curiosity.
A. Basic Neighborhoods
Suppose that at each point B \ g we have picked a neighborhood base UB . As mentioned
above, the collections UB contain implicitly all the information about the topology: a set S is in g
iff O contains a basic neighborhood of each of its points. This suggests that if we start with a set
\ , then we could define a topology on \ if we begin by saying what the UB 's should be. Of
course, we can't just put random sets in UB the sets in each UB must act the way basic
neighborhoods are supposed to act. And how is that? The next theorem describes the crucial
behavior of a collection of basic neighborhoods at B.
Theorem 5.1 Suppose \ g is a topological space and that UB is a neighborhood base at B for
each B \ . Then
1) UB g and F UB B F \
2) if F" and F# UB , then b F$ UB such that B F$ F" F#
3) if F UB , then b M such that B M F and,
a C I, b BC UC such that C BC I
4) O g aB O b B UB such that B B O.
Proof 1) Since \ is a neighborhood of B, there is a F UB such that B F \ . Therefore
UB g. If F UB aB , then B is a neighborhood of B, so B int F F .
2) The intersection of the two neighborhoods F" and F# of B is again a
neighborhood of B. Therefore, by the definition of a neighborhood base, there is a set F$ UB
such that B F$ F" F# .
3) Let M int F . Then B I B and because I is open, I is a neighborhood of each its
points C. Since UC is a neighborhood base at C, there is a set FC UC such that C FC M .
4) : If O is open, then O is a neighborhood of each of its points B. Therefore for each
B S there must be a set F UB such that B F S
: The condition implies that O contains a neighborhood of each of its points.
Therefore S is a neighborhood of each of its points, so S is open.
113
The features of a neighborhood base in Theorem 5.1 are the crucial ones about the behavior of a
neighborhood base at B. The next theorem tells us that, with this information, we can put a
topology on a set by giving a collection of sets to become the basic neighborhoods at each point
B.
Theorem 5.2 (The Neighborhood Base Theorem) Let \ be a set. Suppose that for each
B \ we assign a collection UB of subsets of \ in such a way that conditions 1) - 3) of Theorem
5.1 are true. Define g {O \ : aB O b F UB such that B F O}
Then g is a topology on \ and UB is now a neighborhood base at B in \ g
Note: In Theorem 5.2, we do not ask that the UB 's satisfy condition 4) of Theorem 5.1 because
the set \ has no topology and condition 4) would be meaningless. Here, Condition 4) is our
motivation for how to define g using the FB 's.
Proof We need to prove three things: a) that g is a topology, that b) in \ g , each F UB
is now a neighborhood of B, and that c) the collection UB is now a neighborhood base at B.
a) Clearly, g g . If B \ then, by condition 1), we can choose a F UB and
B F \ Therefore \ g .
Example 5.3 For each B , let UB B , , B. We can easily check the conditions
1) - 3) from Theorem 5.2:
114
"
We can write + -
8" + 8 - , so + - is open in the Sorgenfrey line. Because every
usual open set in is a union of sets of the form + -, we conclude that every usual open set in
is also open in the Sorgenfrey line. The usual topology on is strictly smaller that the
Sorgenfrey topology: g. g .
115
Proof 1) Certainly U \ But by definition of base, the open set \ is a union of a subfamily
of U . Therefore U \
2) If F" and F# U , then F" F# is open. If B F" F# , the definition of base implies
that there must be a set F$ U such that B F$ F" F# .
116
The next theorem tells us that if we are given a collection U of subsets of a set \ with properties
1) and 2), we can use it to define a topology.
Theorem 5.9 (The Base Theorem) Suppose \ is a set and that U is a collection of subsets of \
that satisfies conditions 1) and 2) in Theorem 5.8. Define g O \ O is a union of sets
from U S \ aB S bF U such that B F S.
Then g is a topology on \ and U is a base for g .
Proof First we show that g is a topology on \ . Since g is the union of the empty subfamily of
U , we get that g g , and condition 1) simply states that \ g .
117
Example 5.12 The open intervals + , form a base for the usual topology in , so each set
+ , - . is in the base U for the product topology on . It is easy to see that every
open box Y Z in U can be written as a union of simple open boxes like + , - ..
Therefore U w + , - . + , - . also is a (simpler) base for the product topology
on . From this, it is clear that the product topology on is the usual topology on the
plane # (see Example 5.10).
In general, the open sets Y and Z in the base for the product topology on \ ] can be replaced
by sets Y chosen from a base for \ and Z chosen from a base for ] , as in this example.
So in the definition of the product topology, it is sufficient to say that basic open sets are of the
form Y Z where Y +8. V are basic open sets from \ and from ]
Definition 5.13 A space \ g is said to satisfy the second axiom of countability (or, more
simply, to be a second countable space) if it is possible to find a countable base U for the
topology g .
For example, is second countable because, for example, U + , + , is a countable
base. Is # is second countable (why or why not) ?
Example 5.14 The collection U B B 8" B 8 is a base for the Sorgenfrey
topology on . But the collection B B 8" B 8 is not a countable base for the
Sorgenfrey topology. Why not?
Since the sets in a base may be simpler than arbitrary open sets, they are often more convenient to
work with, and working with the basic open sets is often all that is necessary not a surprise
since all the information about the open sets in contained in the base U . For example, you should
check that
1) If U is a base for g , then B cl E iff each basic open set F containing B satisfies
F E g
2) If 0 \ . ] . w and U is a base for the topology g. w on ] , then 0 is continuous
iff 0 " F is open for each F U . This means that we needn't check the inverse images of all
open sets to verify that 0 is continuous.
118
We can define a topology on a set \ by giving a collection of subsets as the subbase for a
topology. Surprisingly, any collection can be used: no special conditions on are required.
Theorem 5.16 (The Subbase Theorem) Suppose \ is a set and is any collection of subsets
of \ . Let U be the collection of all finite intersections of sets from . Then U is a base for a
topology g , and is a subbase for g .
Proof
Example 5.17
1) Let # % ' and " # is a subbase for a topology on
. A base for this topology is the collection U of all finite intersections of sets in :
U g, # " .
and the (not very interesting) topology g generated the set of all possible unions of sets from U :
g g, , "}, {2}, {1,2}, , "
119
Caution We said earlier that for some purposes it is sufficient to work with basic open sets,
rather than arbitrary open sets for example to check whether B cl E, or to check whether a
function 0 between metric spaces is continuous. However, it is not always sufficient to work
with subbasic open sets. Some caution is necessary.
For example, M M , or M + + , is a subbase for the
usual topology on . We have M g for every subbasic open set M containing "# , but
"
# cl
120
Then
clg g g
E clg E
E is closed iff E clg E
clg E clg clg E
clg E B clg E clg F
(5)
if E F , then cl E cl E cl F clE F cl F
121
(*)
cl\ O cl\ O! \ O! because O! g . This is true for every
! A, so cl\ O \ O ) \ O .
E if E is finite
.
\ if E is infinite
Then cl satisfies the conditions in the Closure Operator Theorem. Since cl E E iff E is finite
or E \ , the closed sets in the topology generated by cl are precisely \ and the finite
sets that is, cl generates the cofinite topology on \ .
2) For each subset E of , define
cl E B there is a sequence +8 in E with each +8 B and |+8 Bl !.
It is easy to check that cl satisfies the hypotheses of the Closure Operator Theorem. Moreover, a
set E is open in the corresponding topology iff aB E b, B such that B , E. Therefore
the topology generated by cl is the Sorgenfrey topology on . What happens in this example if
is replaced by in the definition of cl ?
Since closures, interiors and Frontiers are all related, it shouldn't be surprising that we can also
describe a topology by defining an appropriate int operator or Fr operator on a set \ .
Exercises
122
c) Prove that in \ g , the union of a locally finite family of closed sets is closed.
E3. Suppose 0 \ . ] = Let U be a base for the topology g= and let be a subbase
for g= Prove or disprove: 0 is continuous iff 0 " S is open for all S U iff 0 " S is open
for all S
E4.
E5.
Prove that every infinite X# -space contains an infinite discrete subspace (that is, a subset
which is discrete in the subspace topology).
123
E6.
Suppose that \ g and ] g w are topological spaces. Recall that the product
topology on \ ] is the topology for which the collection of open boxes
U Y Z Y g Z g w is a base.
Therefore a set S \ ] is open in the product topology iff for all B C S, there exist open
sets Y in \ and Z in ] such that B C Y Z S (Note that the product topology on
is the usual topology on # . We always assume that the product topology is the
topology on \ ] unless something different is explicitly stated. )
a) Verify that U is, in fact, a base for a topology on \ ] .
b) Prove that the projection map 1B \ ] \ is an open map.
c) Prove that if E \ and F ] , then cl\] E F cl\ E cl] F Use this to
explain why the product of two closed sets is closed in \ ] .
d) Show that \ and ] each has a countable base iff \ ] has a countable base. Show
that there is a countable neighborhood base at B C \ ] iff there is a countable
neighborhood base UB at B \ and a countable neighborhood base UC at C ]
e) Suppose \ ." and ] .# are pseudometric spaces. Define a pseudometric . on
the set \ ] by
.B" C" B# C# ." B" B# .# C" C#
Prove that the product topology on \ ] is the same as the topology g. .
Note: . is the analogue of the taxicab metric in # Of course, there are other
equivalent pseudometrics producing the product topology on \ ] , e.g.,
. w B" C" B# C# ." B" B# # .# C" C# # "# or
. ww B" C" B# C# max." B" B# .# C" C#
E7.
\ g is called a X# -space ( or Hausdorff space ) if whenever B C \ and B C, then
there exist disjoint open sets Y and Z with B Y and C Z .
a) Give an example of a space \ g which is a X" -space but not a X# -space.
b) Prove that a subspace of a Hausdorff space is Hausdorff.
c) Prove that if \ and ] are Hausdorff, then so is \ ] .
124
E8.
Suppose E \ g The set E is called regular open if E int cl E and E is
regular closed if E cl (int E).
a) Show that for any subset F
i) \ cl F int \ F
ii) \ int F cl \ F
b) Give an example of a closed subset of which is not regular closed.
c) Show that the complement of a regular open set in \ g is regular closed
and vice-versa.
d) Show that the interior of any closed set in \ g is regular open.
e) Show that the intersection of two regular open sets in \ g is regular open.
f) Give an example of the union of two regular open sets that is not regular open.
E9.
and let
F+. + #. + . + + . + #. + 5. 5
U F+. + . =9 U is the set of all arithmetic progressions in
a) Prove that U is a base for a topology g on .
b) Show that each set is closed in (,g )
c) What is the set F!: : a prime number? Explain why this set is not
closed in g .
d) What does part c) tell you about the set of prime numbers?
125
The following theorem implies that each of the spaces in the preceding example is also first
countable, separable, and Lindelof.
(However, it is really worthwhile to try to verify each of those
assertions directly from the definitions.)
Theorem 6.3 A second countable topological space (\ g is also first countable, separable, and
Lindelof.
126
The following examples show that no other implications exist among the countability properties
mentioned in Theorem 6.3.
Example 6.4
1) Suppose \ is uncountable and let g be the cofinite topology on \ .
\ g is separable since any infinite set is dense.
\ g is Lindelof.
To see this let h be an open cover of \ . Pick any one
nonempty set Y h . Then \ Y is finite, say \ Y B" B8 For
each B3 pick a set Y3 h with B3 Y3 Then h w Y Y3 3 " 8
is a countable (actually, finite) subcover chosen from h .
However \ is not first countable (Example 4.5.3), so Theorem 6.3, \ is also not
second countable.
2) Suppose \ is uncountable. Define g S \ S g or \ S is countable.
g is a topology on \ (check! ) called the cocountable topology. A set G \ is
closed iff G \ or G is countable. (This is an upscale analogue of the
cofinite topology.)
An argument very similar to the one in the preceding example shows that \ g
is Lindelof.
But \ g is not separable every countable subset is closed
and therefore not dense. By Theorem 6.3, \ g also cannot be second
countable.
3) Suppose \ is uncountable set and choose a particular point : \
Define g S \ S g or : S. (Check that g is a topology.)
\ g is separable because : is dense.
\ g is not Lindelof
because the cover h B : B \ has no
countable subcover.
Is \ g first countable?
4) Suppose \ is uncountable and let g be the discrete topology on \ .
127
128
Exercises
E11.
8"
E14.
In any space, a point B is called a limit point of the set E if R E B g for every
neighborhood R of B Informally, B is a limit point of E if there are points in E different
from B and arbitrarily close to B.)
b) Suppose \ is hereditarily Lindelof
E15. A space \ g is said to satisfy the countable chain condition ( CCC if every family
of disjoint open sets must be countable.
a) Prove that a separable space \ g satisfies the CCC.
b) Give an example of a space that satisfies the CCC but that is not separable. (It is not
necessary to do so, but can you find an example which is a metric space?)
E16.
Suppose c and U are two bases for the topology in \ g , and that c and U
129
are infinite.
a) Prove that there is a subfamily U w U such that U w is also a base and l U w l lc l.
(Hint: For each pair > Y Z c c , pick, if possible, a set [> U such that
Y [ Z ; otherwise set [> g )
b) Use part a) to prove that the Sorgenfrey line is not second countable.
(Hint: Show that otherwise there would be a countable base of sets of the form + , but
that this is impossible.
130
131
The following theorem relates closures in subspaces to closures in the larger space. It is a useful
technical tool.
Theorem 7.6 Suppose E F \ g , then clF E F cl\ E
Proof F cl\ E is a closed set in F that contains E so F cl\ E clF E
On the other hand, suppose , F cl\ E. To show that , clF E, pick an open set Y in
F that contains ,. We need to show Y E g. There is an open set S in \ such that
S F Y . Since , cl\ E, we have that g S E S F E S F E
Y E.
132
Example 7.7
1) cl cl
2) cl!# ! " cl ! " ! # ! " ! # ! "
3) The analogous results are not true for interiors and boundaries. For example:
int int g , and
g Fr Fr
Why does cl have a privileged role here? Is there a reason why you would expect a better
connection between closures in E and closures in \ than you would expect between interiors in
E and interiors in \ ?
Definition 7.8 A property T of topological spaces is called hereditary if whenever a space \
has property T , then every subspace E also has property T .
For example, Corollary 7.4 tells us that first and second countability are hereditary properties.
Other hereditary properties include finite cardinality and pseudometrizability. On the other
hand, infinite cardinality is not a hereditary property.
Example 7.9
1) Separability is not a hereditary property. For example, consider the Sorgenfrey plane
\ see Example 5.4) \ is separable because # is dense.
Consider the subspace H B C B C ". The set Y + + " , , "
is open in \ so if + , H then Y H + , is open in the subspace H Therefore H is
a discrete subspace of \ , and an uncountable discrete space is not separable.
Similarly, the Moore place > is separable (see Example 5.6); the B-axis in > is an
uncountable discrete subspace which is not separable.
2) The Lindelof
property is not heredity. Let E be an uncountable set and let : be an
additional point not in E. Define \ E : Put a topology on \ by describing a
neighborhood base at each point.
U+ + for + E
U F : F and \ F is finite
:
(Check that the collections UB satisfy the hypotheses of the Neighborhood Base Theorem 5.2.)
If i is an open cover of \ , then : Z for some Z i . By ii), every neighborhood of : in \
has a finite complement, so \ Z is finite. For each C in the finite set \ Z , we can choose a
set ZC i with C ZC Then i w Z ZC C \ Z is a countable (in fact, finite)
subcover from i , so \ is Lindelof.
The definition of U+ implies that each point of E is isolated in E; that is, E is an uncountable
discrete subspace and h + + E is an open cover of E that has no countable subcover.
Therefore the subspace E is not Lindelof.
133
Even if a property is not hereditary, it is sometimes inherited by certain subspaces as the next
theorem illustrates.
Theorem 7.10 A closed subspace of a Lindelof
space is Lindelof
134
8. Continuity
To define continuous functions between pseudometric spaces, we began by using the distance
function . . But then we proved that our definition is equivalent to other formulations stated in
terms of open sets, closed sets, or neighborhoods. In the context of topological spaces we do not
have distance functions to describe nearness. But we can still use neighborhoods of + to take
about nearness to +.
Definition 8.1 A function 0 \ g ] g w is continuous at + \ if whenever R is a
neighborhood of 0 +, then 0 " R is a neighborhood of +. We say 0 is continuous if 0 is
continuous at each point of \ .
The statement that 0 is continuous at + is clearly equivalent to each of the following statements: :
i) for each neighborhood R of 0 + there is a neighborhood [ of + such
that 0 [ R
ii) for each open set Z containing 0 + there is an open set Y containing + such
that 0 Y Z
iii) for each basic open set Z containing 0 + there is a basic open set Y
containing + such that 0 Y Z .
The conditions i) - iii) for continuity in the following theorem are the same as those in Theorem
II.5.6 for pseudometric spaces. Condition iv) was not mentioned in Chapter II, but it is
sometimes handy.
Theorem 8.2 Suppose 0 \ g ] g w . The following are equivalent.
i) 0 is continuous
ii) if S g w then 0 " S g (the inverse image of an open set is open)
iii) if J is closed in ] , then 0 " J is closed in \ (the inverse image of a
closed set is closed)
iv) for every E \ 0 cl\ E cl] 0 E.
Proof The proof that i) - iii) are equivalent is identical to the proof for Theorem II.5.6 for
pseudometric spaces. That proof was deliberately worded in terms of open sets, closed sets, and
neighborhoods so that it would carry over to this new situation.
iii iv) 0 " cl] 0 E 0 " 0 E E. Since cl] 0 E is closed in ] iii) gives
that 0 cl] 0 E is a closed set in \ that contains E Therefore 0 " cl] 0 E cl\ E, so
cl] 0 E 0 cl\ E
"
135
136
0 + be the point where the ray from T through + intersects ] . (The function 0 is called
a central projection. ). Then both 0 \ ] and 0 " ] \ are continuous
bijections.
137
Example 8.8
1) 0 ! #1 W " B C # B# C# " given by 0 ) cos ),sin ).
It is easy to check that 0 is continuous, one-to-one, and onto. J 1 #1 is closed in ! #1 but
0 1 #1 is not closed in W " . Also, ! 1 is open in ! #1 but 0 ! 1 is not open in W " .
A continuous, one-to-one, onto mapping does not need to be open or closed x
2) Suppose \ and ] are topological spaces and that 0 \ ] is a bijection so there is
an inverse function 0 " ] \ Then 0 " is continuous iff 0 is open. To check this, let
1 0 " For an open set S \ we have C 1" S iff 1C S iff C 0 1C 0 S , so
0 S 1" S. So 0 S is open iff 1" S is open. For a bijection 0 , 0 is open is equivalent to
0 " is continuous.
If S is replaced by a closed set J \ , then a similar argument also shows that a
bijection 0 is closed iff 0 " is continuous.
Definition 8.9 A mapping 0 \ g ] g w is called a homeomorphism if 0 is a bijection
and 0 and 0 " are both continuous. If a homeomorphism 0 exists, we say that \ and ] are
homeomorphic and write \ ] .
Note: The term is homeomorphism," not homomorphism (a term from algebra) The
etymologies are closely related: -morphism comes from the Greek word .939( for
shape or form. The prefixes homo and homeo come from Greek words
meaning same and similar respectively. There was a major dispute in western
religious history, mostly during the 4>2 century AD, that hinged on the distinction between
homeo and homo.
As noted in the preceding example, we could also describe a homeomorphism as a continuous
open bijection or a continuous closed bijection.
It is obvious that in a collection of topological spaces, the homeomorphism relation is an
equivalence relation: if \ ] and ^ are topological spaces, then
i) \ \
ii) if \ ] , then ] \
iii) if \ ] and ] ^ , then \ ^ .
138
Example 8.10
1) The function 0 ! #1 W " given by 0 ) cos ),sin ) is not a
homeomorphism even though 0 is continuous, 1 1, and onto.
2) The central projection from the rectangle to the circle (Example 8.5.3) is a
homeomorphism.
3) Using a linear map, it is easy to see that any two open intervals + , in are
homeomorphic. The mapping tan 1# 1# is a homeomorphism, so that each
nonempty open interval in is actually homeomorphic to itself.
3) If 0 \ . ] = is an isometry (onto) between metric spaces, then both 0 and
0 " are continuous, so 0 is a homeomorphism.
4) If . and . w are equivalent metrics (so g. g. w , then the identity map
3 \ . \ . w is a homeomorphism. A homeomorphism 0 between metric spaces
need not preserve distances, that is, 0 need not be an isometry.
5) The function 0 8" 8 given by 0 8" 8 is a homeomorphism both
spaces have the discrete topology! ) Topologically, these spaces are the identical: both
are just countable infinite sets with the discrete topology. 0 is not an isometry
Any two discrete spaces \ and ] with the same cardinality are homeomorphic: any
bijection between them is a homeomorphism.
139
0 " ] E 0 " ] E
0 " ] E 0 " ] E, and
0 \ E 0 \ E
0 \ E 0 \ E and
0 \ G 0 \ 0 G ] 0 G
(Actually a),b), c) are true for any function; but d) and e) depend on 0 being a bijection.)
These properties say that this correspondence between subsets preserves unions: if each
\ ] then \ ] 0 \ 0 \ . Similarly, 0 preserves intersection and
complements.
140
iii) Finally if 0 and 0 " are continuous, then open (closed) sets in \ correspond to
open(closed) sets in ] and vice-versa.
The total effect is all the topological structure in \ is exactly duplicated in ] and vice versa:
we can think of points, subsets, open sets and closed sets in ] are just renamed copies of their
counterparts in \ . Moreover 0 preserves unions, intersections and complements, so 0 also
preserves all properties of \ that can defined be using unions, intersections and complements of
open sets. For example, we can check that if 0 is a homeomorphism and E \ , then
0 int\ E int] 0 E, that 0 cl\ E cl] 0 E, and that 0 Fr\ E Fr] 0 E That is, 0 takes
interiors to interiors, closures to closures, and boundaries to boundaries.
Definition 8.11 A property P of topological spaces is called a topological property if, whenever
a space \ has property T and ] \ , then the space ] also has property T .
By definition: if \ and ] are homeomorphic, then \ and ] have the same topological
properties. Conversely, if two topological spaces \ and ] have the same topological properties,
then \ and ] must be homeomorphic. (Why? Let T is homeomorphic to \ . T is a
topological property because if ] has T (that is, ] \ ) and ^ ] then ^ also has T .
And \ has this property T , because \ \ . So if we are assuming that \ and ] have the
same topological properties, then ] has the property T , that is, ] is homeomorphic to \ .)
So we think of two homeomorphic spaces as topologically identical they are homeomorphic
iff they have exactly the same topological properties. We can show that two spaces are not
homeomorphic by showing a topological property of one space that the other space doesn't
possess.
Example 8.12 Let T be the property that every continuous real-valued function achieves a
maximum value. Suppose a space \ property T and that 2 \ ] is a homeomorphism.
We claim that ] also has property T .
Let 0 be any continuous real-valued function defined on ] .
Then 0 2 \ is continuous
0
\ ]
2
1
141
For example, the closed interval ! " has property T discussed in Example 8.12 (this is a wellknown fact from elementary analysis which we will prove later). But ! " and ! " do not
have this property T (why?). So we can conclude that ! " is not homeomorphic to either ! "
or ! "
Some simple examples of topological properties are: cardinality, first and second countability,
Lindelof,
separability, and (pseudo)metrizability are topological properties. In the case of
metrizability, for example:
If \ . is a metric space and 0 \ . ] g is a homeomorphism, then we can
define a metric . w on ] as . w + , .0 " + 0 " , for + , ] . You then need
to check that g. w g (using the properties of a homeomorphism and the definition of
. w ). This shows that ] g is metrizable. Be sure you can do this!
9. Sequences
In Chapter II we saw that sequences are a useful tool for working with pseudometric spaces. In
fact, sequences are sufficient to describe the topology in a pseudometric space \ . because
convergent sequences determine the closure of a set.
We can easily define convergent sequences in any topological space \ g . But as we shall see,
sequences need to be used with more care in spaces that are not pseudometrizable. Whether or
not a sequence converges to a certain point B is a local question it depends on getting near
B and we measure nearness to B by using the neighborhood system aB . If aB is too large or
too complicated, then it may be impossible for a sequence to get arbitrarily close to B. We
will see a specific example soon where such a problem occurs. But first, we look at some of the
things that do work out just as nicely for topological spaces as they do in pseudometric spaces.
In a pseudometric space a sequence can converge to more than one point, but we proved that in a
metric space limits of convergent sequences must be unique. A similar situation holds in any
space: the important issue is whether we can separate points by open sets.
142
Definition 9.2 A space \ g is a X" -space if for every pair of points B C \ there exist
open sets Y and Z such that B Y , C Y and C Z B Z (that is, each of the points is an
open set that does not contain the other point).
\ g is called a X# -space (or Hausdorff space ) if whenever B C \ there exist
disjoint open sets Y and Z such that B Y and C Z .
It is easy to check that \ is a X" -space iff for every B \ , B is closed
There are several separation axioms called X! X" X# X$ and X% that a
topological space might satisfy. We will look at all of them eventually. Each
condition is stronger than the earlier ones in the list for example, X# X"
The letter X is used here because in the early (German) literature, the word
for separation axioms was Trennungsaxiome.
Theorem 9.3 In a Hausdorff space \ g , a sequence can converge to at most one point.
Proof Suppose B C \ . Choose disjoint open sets Y and Z with B Y and C Z . If
B8 B, then B8 is eventually in Y , so B8 is not eventually in Z . Therefore B8 does not
also converge to C.
When we try to generalize results from pseudometric spaces to topological spaces, we often get a
better insight about where the heart of a proof lies. For example, to prove that limits of sequences
are unique it is the Hausdorff property that is important, not the presence of a metric. For a
pseudometric space \ . we proved that B cl E iff B is a limit of a sequence +8 in E. That
proof (see Theorem II.5.18) used the fact that there was a countable neighborhood base F " B
8
8 at each point B. We can see now that the countable neighborhood base was the crucial
fact: we can prove the same result in any first countable topological space \ g .
143
Proof If [ is any neighborhood of B, then there is a 5 such that B Y5 [ . Since the Y5 's
are a shrinking neighborhood base, we have that for any 8 5 +8 Y8 Y5 [ . So
+ 8 B
Theorem 9.6 Suppose \ g is first countable and E \ . Then B cl E iff there is a
sequence +8 in E such that +8 B.
( More informally, sequences are sufficient to
describe the topology in a first countable topological space.)
Proof ( ) Suppose +8 is a sequence in E and that +8 B. For each neighborhood [ of
B, +8 is eventually in [ . Therefore so [ E g, so B cl E (This half of the proof works
in any topological space: it does not depend on first countability.)
( ) Suppose B cl E Using Lemma 9.4, choose a countable shrinking neighborhood
base Y" Y8 at B Since B cl E, we can choose a point +8 Y8 E for each 8. By
Lemma 9.5, +8 B.
We can use Theorem 9.6 to get an upper bound on the size of certain topological spaces,
analogous to what we did for pseudometric spaces. This result is not very important, but it
illustrates that in Theorem II.5.21 the properties that are really important are first countability
and Hausdorff, not the actual presence of a metric . .
Corollary 9.7 If H is a dense subset in a first countable Hausdorff space \ g , then
l\l lHli! . In particular, If \ is a separable, first countable Hausdorff space, then
l\l ii! ! -
Proof \ is first countable so for each B \ we can pick a sequence .8 in H such that
.8 B; formally, this sequence is a function 0B H, so 0B H Since \ is Hausdorff,
a sequence cannot converge to two different points: so if B C \ , then 0B 0C . Therefore the
function F \ H given by FB 0B is one-to-one, so l\l lH l lHli!
The conclusion in Theorem 9.6 may not be true if \ is not first countable: sequences are not
always sufficient to determine the topology of \ that is, convergent sequences cannot
always describe the closure of a set.
Example 9.8 (the space P)
Let P 7 8 7 8 7 8 !, and let G4 be the 4th column of P, that is
G4 4 8 P 8 ! " We put a topology on P by giving a neighborhood base at each
point :
7 8
if : 7 8 ! !
U:
{F ! ! F and C4 F is finite for all but finitely many 4 if : ! !
(Check that this definition satisfies the conditions in the Neighborhood Base Theorem 5.2 and
144
Sequences do suffice to describe the topology in a first countable space, so it is not surprising that
we can use sequences to decide whether a function defined on a first countable space \ is
continuous.
Theorem 9.9 Suppose \ g is first countable and 0 \ g ] g w .
continuous at + \ iff whenever B8 +, then 0 B8 0 +
Then 0 is
145
10. Subsequences
Definition 10.1 Suppose 0 \ is a sequence in \ and that 9 is strictly
increasing. The composition 0 9 \ is called a subsequence of 0 .
0
\
9 0 9
Example 10.5.
1) Suppose \ ! " # and E # Then [ E g for every neighborhood
of #, but # is not a limit point of E since [ E # g Each B ! " is a limit
point of ! " and also a limit point of \ . Since # is open, # is not a limit point of \ .
2) In , every point < is a limit point of . If E , then E has no limit points in
and no limit points in .
3) If B8 B then B is a cluster point of B8 More generally, if B8 has a
subsequence B85 B, then B is a cluster point of B8 (Why?)
146
4) A sequence can have many cluster points. For example, if the sequence ;8 lists all
the elements of , then every < is a cluster point of ;8
5) The only cluster points in for the sequence B8 "8 are " and ".
But the set B8 8 " " has no limit points in The set of cluster
points of a sequence is not always the same as the set of limit points of the set of terms in
the sequence! (Is one of these sets always a subset of the other? )
Theorem 10.6 Suppose \ g is first countable and that + is a cluster point of B8 . Then there
is a subsequence B85 +.
Proof Let Y" Y# Y8 be a countable shrinking neighborhood base at + Since B8 is
frequently in Y" , we can pick 8" so that B8" Y" . Since B8 is frequently in Y# , we can pick an
8# 8" so that B8# Y# Y" Continue inductively: having chosen 8" 8 5 so that
B85 Y5 ... Y" , we can then choose 85" 85 so that B85" Y5" Y5 Then B85 is a
subsequence of B8 and B8 +
Example 10.7 (the space P, revisited)
Let P be the space in Example 9.8 and let B8 be a sequence which lists all the elements of
P ! !
Every basic neighborhood F of ! ! is infinite, so F must contain terms B8 for arbitrarily
large 8. This means that B8 is frequently in F , so ! ! is a cluster point of B8
But no subsequence of B8 can converge to ! ! because we showed earlier that no
sequence whatsoever from P ! ! can converge to ! ! Therefore Theorem 10.6 may
not be true if the space \ is not first countable.
Consider any sequence B8 ! ! in P. If there were infinitely many B8 ! !, then we
could form the subsequence that contains those terms, and that subsequence would be a sequence
in P ! ! that converges to ! ! which is impossible. Therefore we conclude that
eventually B8 ! !. Now let 0 P be any bijection. If B8 ! ! in P, then
0 B8 0 ! ! 5 eventually, so 0 B8 5 0 ! ! in .
The topology on is discrete, so 5 is a neighborhood of 0 ! !, but 0 " 5 ! ! is
not a neighborhood of ! !. We conclude that 0 is not continuous at ! ! even though
0 B8 0 ! ! for every sequence B8 ! !
Theorem 9.9 does not apply to P: if a space is not first countable, sequences may be inadequate
to check whether a function 0 is continuous at a point.
147
Exercises
E17. Suppose 0 1 \ g" ] g# are continuous functions, that H is dense in \ , and
that 0 lH 1lH Prove that is ] is Hausdorff, then 0 1 (This generalizes the result in
Chapter 2, Theorem 5.12.)
E18.
E22.
149
L" is defined on the lower closed half of the box ! "# L# is defined on the upper closed half,
and they agree on the overlap that is, on the horizontal line segment ! " "# Part b)
or part c) says that the two functions can be pieced together into a continuous function
L ! "# \ . where L L" L# .
150
2. A convergent sequence in a first countable topological space has at most one limit.
12. Let \ ! " with the topology g g \ 1. There are exactly 3 continuous
functions 0 \ g \ g
13. If E and F are subspaces of \ g and both E and F are discrete in the subspace topology,
then E F is discrete in the subspace topology.
14. If H and H is discrete in the subspace topology, then H is closed in .
151
17. If X has the cofinite topology, then the closure of every open set in X is open.
18. If \ g is metrizable, and 0 \ g ] g w is continuous and onto, then (] g w ) is
also metrizable.
152
35. Suppose \ g has a base U with lU l - Then \ has a dense set H with lHl -
38. Suppose \ is an infinite set. Let g" be the cofinite topology on \ and let g# be the discrete
topology on \ If 0 \ g" is continuous, then 0 \ g# is also continuous.
39. Consider with the topology g + + g, . g is first countable.
153