# Looking for spaces in which every compact subspace is metrizable

Once it is known that a topological space is not metrizable, it is natural to ask, from a metrizability standpoint, which subspaces are metrizable, e.g. whether every compact subspace is metrizable. This post discusses several classes of spaces in which every compact subspace is metrizable. Though the goal here is not to find a complete characterization of such spaces, this post discusses several classes of spaces and various examples that have this property. The effort brings together many interesting basic and well known facts. Thus the notion “every compact subspace is metrizable” is an excellent learning opportunity.

Several Classes of Spaces

The notion “every compact subspace is metrizable” is a very broad class of spaces. It includes well known spaces such as Sorgenfrey line, Michael line and the first uncountable ordinal $\omega_1$ (with the order topology) as well as Moore spaces. Certain function spaces are in the class “every compact subspace is metrizable”. The following diagram is a good organizing framework.

\displaystyle \begin{aligned} &1. \ \text{Metrizable} \\&\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \Downarrow \\&2. \ \text{Submetrizable} \Longleftarrow 5. \ \exists \ \text{countable network} \\&\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \Downarrow \\&3. \ \exists \ G_\delta \text{ diagonal} \\&\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \Downarrow \\&4. \ \text{Every compact subspace is metrizable} \end{aligned}

Let $(X, \tau)$ be a space. It is submetrizable if there is a topology $\tau_1$ on the set $X$ such that $\tau_1 \subset \tau$ and $(X, \tau_1)$ is a metrizable space. The topology $\tau_1$ is said to be weaker (coarser) than $\tau$. Thus a space $X$ is submetrizable if it has a weaker metrizable topology.

Let $\mathcal{N}$ be a set of subsets of the space $X$. $\mathcal{N}$ is said to be a network for $X$ if for every open subset $O$ of $X$ and for each $x \in O$, there exists $N \in \mathcal{N}$ such that $x \in N \subset O$. Having a network that is countable in size is a strong property (see here for a discussion on spaces with a countable network).

The diagonal of the space $X$ is the subset $\Delta=\left\{(x,x): x \in X \right\}$ of the square $X \times X$. The space $X$ has a $G_\delta$-diagonal if $\Delta$ is a $G_\delta$-subset of $X \times X$, i.e. $\Delta$ is the intersection of countably many open subsets of $X \times X$.

The implication $1 \Longrightarrow 2$ is clear. For $5 \Longrightarrow 2$, see Lemma 1 in this previous post on countable network. The implication $2 \Longrightarrow 3$ is left as an exercise. To see $3 \Longrightarrow 4$, let $K$ be a compact subset of $X$. The property of having a $G_\delta$-diagonal is hereditary. Thus $K$ has a $G_\delta$-diagonal. According to a well known result, any compact space with a $G_\delta$-diagonal is metrizable (see here).

None of the implications in the diagram is reversible. The first uncountable ordinal $\omega_1$ is an example for $4 \not \Longrightarrow 3$. This follows from the well known result that any countably compact space with a $G_\delta$-diagonal is metrizable (see here). The Mrowka space is an example for $3 \not \Longrightarrow 2$ (see here). The Sorgenfrey line is an example for both $2 \not \Longrightarrow 5$ and $2 \not \Longrightarrow 1$.

To see where the examples mentioned earlier are placed, note that Sorgenfrey line and Michael line are submetrizable, both are submetrizable by the usual Euclidean topology on the real line. Each compact subspace of the space $\omega_1$ is countable and is thus contained in some initial segment $[0,\alpha]$ which is metrizable. Any Moore space has a $G_\delta$-diagonal. Thus compact subspaces of a Moore space are metrizable.

Function Spaces

We now look at some function spaces that are in the class “every compact subspace is metrizable.” For any Tychonoff space (completely regular space) $X$, $C_p(X)$ is the space of all continuous functions from $X$ into $\mathbb{R}$ with the pointwise convergence topology (see here for basic information on pointwise convergence topology).

Theorem 1
Suppose that $X$ is a separable space. Then every compact subspace of $C_p(X)$ is metrizable.

Proof
The proof here actually shows more than is stated in the theorem. We show that $C_p(X)$ is submetrizable by a separable metric topology. Let $Y$ be a countable dense subspace of $X$. Then $C_p(Y)$ is metrizable and separable since it is a subspace of the separable metric space $\mathbb{R}^{\omega}$. Thus $C_p(Y)$ has a countable base. Let $\mathcal{E}$ be a countable base for $C_p(Y)$.

Let $\pi:C_p(X) \longrightarrow C_p(Y)$ be the restriction map, i.e. for each $f \in C_p(X)$, $\pi(f)=f \upharpoonright Y$. Since $\pi$ is a projection map, it is continuous and one-to-one and it maps $C_p(X)$ into $C_p(Y)$. Thus $\pi$ is a continuous bijection from $C_p(X)$ into $C_p(Y)$. Let $\mathcal{B}=\left\{\pi^{-1}(E): E \in \mathcal{E} \right\}$.

We claim that $\mathcal{B}$ is a base for a topology on $C_p(X)$. Once this is established, the proof of the theorem is completed. Note that $\mathcal{B}$ is countable and elements of $\mathcal{B}$ are open subsets of $C_p(X)$. Thus the topology generated by $\mathcal{B}$ is coarser than the original topology of $C_p(X)$.

For $\mathcal{B}$ to be a base, two conditions must be satisfied – $\mathcal{B}$ is a cover of $C_p(X)$ and for $B_1,B_2 \in \mathcal{B}$, and for $f \in B_1 \cap B_2$, there exists $B_3 \in \mathcal{B}$ such that $f \in B_3 \subset B_1 \cap B_2$. Since $\mathcal{E}$ is a base for $C_p(Y)$ and since elements of $\mathcal{B}$ are preimages of elements of $\mathcal{E}$ under the map $\pi$, it is straightforward to verify these two points. $\square$

Theorem 1 is actually a special case of a duality result in $C_p$ function space theory. More about this point later. First, consider a corollary of Theorem 1.

Corollary 2
Let $X=\prod_{\alpha where $c$ is the cardinality continuum and each $X_\alpha$ is a separable space. Then every compact subspace of $C_p(X)$ is metrizable.

The key fact for Corollary 2 is that the product of continuum many separable spaces is separable (this fact is discussed here). Theorem 1 is actually a special case of a deep result.

Theorem 3
Suppose that $X=\prod_{\alpha<\kappa} X_\alpha$ is a product of separable spaces where $\kappa$ is any infinite cardinal. Then every compact subspace of $C_p(X)$ is metrizable.

Theorem 3 is a much more general result. The product of any arbitrary number of separable spaces is not separable if the number of factors is greater than continuum. So the proof for Theorem 1 will not work in the general case. This result is Problem 307 in [2].

A Duality Result

Theorem 1 is stated in a way that gives the right information for the purpose at hand. A more correct statement of Theorem 1 is: $X$ is separable if and only if $C_p(X)$ is submetrizable by a separable metric topology. Of course, the result in the literature is based on density and weak weight.

The cardinal function of density is the least cardinality of a dense subspace. For any space $Y$, the weight of $Y$, denoted by $w(Y)$, is the least cardinaility of a base of $Y$. The weak weight of a space $X$ is the least $w(Y)$ over all space $Y$ for which there is a continuous bijection from $X$ onto $Y$. Thus if the weak weight of $X$ is $\omega$, then there is a continuous bijection from $X$ onto some separable metric space, hence $X$ has a weaker separable metric topology.

There is a duality result between density and weak weight for $X$ and $C_p(X)$. The duality result:

The density of $X$ coincides with the weak weight of $C_p(X)$ and the weak weight of $X$ coincides with the density of $C_p(X)$. These are elementary results in $C_p$-theory. See Theorem I.1.4 and Theorem I.1.5 in [1].

$\text{ }$

$\text{ }$

$\text{ }$

Reference

1. Arkhangelskii, A. V., Topological Function Spaces, Mathematics and Its Applications Series, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 1992.
2. Tkachuk V. V., A $C_p$-Theory Problem Book, Topological and Function Spaces, Springer, New York, 2011.

$\text{ }$

$\text{ }$

$\text{ }$

$\copyright$ 2017 – Dan Ma

# Compact metrizable scattered spaces

A scattered space is one in which there are isolated points found in every subspace. Specifically, a space $X$ is a scattered space if every non-empty subspace $Y$ of $X$ has a point $y \in Y$ such that $y$ is an isolated point in $Y$, i.e. the singleton set $\left\{y \right\}$ is open in the subspace $Y$. A handy example is a space consisting of ordinals. Note that in a space of ordinals, every non-empty subset has an isolated point (e.g. its least element). In this post, we discuss scattered spaces that are compact metrizable spaces.

Here’s what led the author to think of such spaces. Consider Theorem III.1.2 found on page 91 of Arhangelskii’s book on topological function space [1], which is Theorem 1 stated below:

Thereom 1
For any compact space $X$, the following conditions are equivalent:

• The function space $C_p(X)$ is a Frechet-Urysohn space.
• The function space $C_p(X)$ is a k space.
• $X$ is a scattered space.

Let’s put aside the Frechet-Urysohn property and the k space property for the moment. For any Hausdorff space $X$, let $C(X)$ be the set of all continuous real-valued functions defined on the space $X$. Since $C(X)$ is a subspace of the product space $\mathbb{R}^X$, a natural topology that can be given to $C(X)$ is the subspace topology inherited from the product space $\mathbb{R}^X$. Then $C_p(X)$ is simply the set $C(X)$ with the product subspace topology (also called the pointwise convergence topology).

Let’s say the compact space $X$ is countable and infinite. Then the function space $C_p(X)$ is metrizable since it is a subspace of $\mathbb{R}^X$, a product of countably many lines. Thus the function space $C_p(X)$ has the Frechet-Urysohn property (being metrizable implies Frechet-Urysohn). This means that the compact space $X$ is scattered. The observation just made is a proof that any infinite compact space that is countable in cardinality must be scattered. In particular, every infinite compact and countable space must have an isolated point. There must be a more direct proof of this same fact without taking the route of a function space. The indirect argument does not reveal the essential nature of compact metric spaces. The essential fact is that any uncountable compact metrizable space contains a Cantor set, which is as unscattered as any space can be. Thus the only scattered compact metrizable spaces are the countable ones.

The main part of the proof is the construction of a Cantor set in a compact metrizable space (Theorem 3). The main result is Theorem 4. In many settings, the construction of a Cantor set is done in the real number line (e.g. the middle third Cantor set). The construction here is in a more general setting. But the idea is still the same binary division process – the splitting of a small open set with compact closure into two open sets with disjoint compact closure. We also use that fact that any compact metric space is hereditarily Lindelof (Theorem 2).

____________________________________________________________________

Compact metrizable spaces

We first define some notions before looking at compact metrizable spaces in more details. Let $X$ be a space. Let $A \subset X$. Let $p \in X$. We say that $p$ is a limit point of $A$ if every open subset of $X$ containing $p$ contains a point of $A$ distinct from $p$. So the notion of limit point here is from a topology perspective and not from a metric perspective. In a topological space, a limit point does not necessarily mean that it is the limit of a convergent sequence (however, it does in a metric space). The proof of the following theorem is straightforward.

Theorem 2
Let $X$ be a hereditarily Lindelof space (i.e. every subspace of $X$ is Lindelof). Then for any uncountable subset $A$ of $X$, all but countably many points of $A$ are limit points of $A$.

We now discuss the main result.

Theorem 3
Let $X$ be a compact metrizable space such that every point of $X$ is a limit point of $X$. Then there exists an uncountable closed subset $C$ of $X$ such that every point of $C$ is a limit point of $C$.

Proof of Theorem 3
Note that any compact metrizable space is a complete metric space. Consider a complete metric $\rho$ on the space $X$. One fact that we will use is that if there is a sequence of closed sets $X \supset H_1 \supset H_2 \supset H_3 \supset \cdots$ such that the diameters of the sets $H$ (based on the complete metric $\rho$) decrease to zero, then the sets $H_n$ collapse to one point.

The uncountable closed set $C$ we wish to define is a Cantor set, which is constructed from a binary division process. To start, pick two points $p_0,p_1 \in X$ such that $p_0 \ne p_1$. By assumption, both points are limit points of the space $X$. Choose open sets $U_0,U_1 \subset X$ such that

• $p_0 \in U_0$,
• $p_1 \in U_1$,
• $K_0=\overline{U_0}$ and $K_1=\overline{U_1}$,
• $K_0 \cap K_1 = \varnothing$,
• the diameters for $K_0$ and $K_1$ with respect to $\rho$ are less than 0.5.

Note that each of these open sets contains infinitely many points of $X$. Then we can pick two points in each of $U_0$ and $U_1$ in the same manner. Before continuing, we set some notation. If $\sigma$ is an ordered string of 0’s and 1’s of length $n$ (e.g. 01101 is a string of length 5), then we can always extend it by tagging on a 0 and a 1. Thus $\sigma$ is extended as $\sigma 0$ and $\sigma 1$ (e.g. 01101 is extended by 011010 and 011011).

Suppose that the construction at the $n$th stage where $n \ge 1$ is completed. This means that the points $p_\sigma$ and the open sets $U_\sigma$ have been chosen such that $p_\sigma \in U_\sigma$ for each length $n$ string of 0’s and 1’s $\sigma$. Now we continue the picking for the $(n+1)$st stage. For each $\sigma$, an $n$-length string of 0’s and 1’s, choose two points $p_{\sigma 0}$ and $p_{\sigma 1}$ and choose two open sets $U_{\sigma 0}$ and $U_{\sigma 1}$ such that

• $p_{\sigma 0} \in U_{\sigma 0}$,
• $p_{\sigma 1} \in U_{\sigma 1}$,
• $K_{\sigma 0}=\overline{U_{\sigma 0}} \subset U_{\sigma}$ and $K_{\sigma 1}=\overline{U_{\sigma 1}} \subset U_{\sigma}$,
• $K_{\sigma 0} \cap K_{\sigma 1} = \varnothing$,
• the diameters for $K_{\sigma 0}$ and $K_{\sigma 1}$ with respect to $\rho$ are less than $0.5^{n+1}$.

For each positive integer $m$, let $C_m$ be the union of all $K_\sigma$ over all $\sigma$ that are $m$-length strings of 0’s and 1’s. Each $C_m$ is a union of finitely many compact sets and is thus compact. Furthermore, $C_1 \supset C_2 \supset C_3 \supset \cdots$. Thus $C=\bigcap \limits_{m=1}^\infty C_m$ is non-empty. To complete the proof, we need to show that

• $C$ is uncountable (in fact of cardinality continuum),
• every point of $C$ is a limit point of $C$.

To show the first point, we define a one-to-one function $f: \left\{0,1 \right\}^N \rightarrow C$ where $N=\left\{1,2,3,\cdots \right\}$. Note that each element of $\left\{0,1 \right\}^N$ is a countably infinite string of 0’s and 1’s. For each $\tau \in \left\{0,1 \right\}^N$, let $\tau \upharpoonright n$ denote the string of the first $n$ digits of $\tau$. For each $\tau \in \left\{0,1 \right\}^N$, let $f(\tau)$ be the unique point in the following intersection:

$\displaystyle \bigcap \limits_{n=1}^\infty K_{\tau \upharpoonright n} = \left\{f(\tau) \right\}$

This mapping is uniquely defined. Simply conceptually trace through the induction steps. For example, if $\tau$ are 01011010…., then consider $K_0 \supset K_{01} \supset K_{010} \supset \cdots$. At each next step, always pick the $K_{\tau \upharpoonright n}$ that matches the next digit of $\tau$. Since the sets $K_{\tau \upharpoonright n}$ are chosen to have diameters decreasing to zero, the intersection must have a unique element. This is because we are working in a complete metric space.

It is clear that the map $f$ is one-to-one. If $\tau$ and $\gamma$ are two different strings of 0’s and 1’s, then they must differ at some coordinate, then from the way the induction is done, the strings would lead to two different points. It is also clear to see that the map $f$ is reversible. Pick any point $x \in C$. Then the point $x$ must belong to a nested sequence of sets $K$‘s. This maps to a unique infinite string of 0’s and 1’s. Thus the set $C$ has the same cardinality as the set $\left\{0,1 \right\}^N$, which has cardinality continuum.

To see the second point, pick $x \in C$. Suppose $x=f(\tau)$ where $\tau \in \left\{0,1 \right\}^N$. Consider the open sets $U_{\tau \upharpoonright n}$ for all positive integers $n$. Note that $x \in U_{\tau \upharpoonright n}$ for each $n$. Based on the induction process described earlier, observe these two facts. This sequence of open sets has diameters decreasing to zero. Each open set $U_{\tau \upharpoonright n}$ contains infinitely many other points of $C$ (this is because of all the open sets $U_{\tau \upharpoonright k}$ that are subsets of $U_{\tau \upharpoonright n}$ where $k \ge n$). Because the diameters are decreasing to zero, the sequence of $U_{\tau \upharpoonright n}$ is a local base at the point $x$. Thus, the point $x$ is a limit point of $C$. This completes the proof. $\blacksquare$

Theorem 4
Let $X$ be a compact metrizable space. It follows that $X$ is scattered if and only if $X$ is countable.

Proof of Theorem 4
$\Longleftarrow$
In this direction, we show that if $X$ is countable, then $X$ is scattered (the fact that can be shown using the function space argument pointed out earlier). Here, we show the contrapositive: if $X$ is not scattered, then $X$ is uncountable. Suppose $X$ is not scattered. Then every point of $X$ is a limit point of $X$. By Theorem 3, $X$ would contain a Cantor set $C$ of cardinality continuum.

$\Longrightarrow$
In this direction, we show that if $X$ is scattered, then $X$ is countable. We also show the contrapositive: if $X$ is uncountable, then $X$ is not scattered. Suppose $X$ is uncountable. By Theorem 2, all but countably many points of $X$ are limit points of $X$. After discarding these countably many isolated points, we still have a compact space. So we can just assume that every point of $X$ is a limit point of $X$. Then by Theorem 3, $X$ contains an uncountable closed set $C$ such that every point of $C$ is a limit point of $C$. This means that $X$ is not scattered. $\blacksquare$

____________________________________________________________________

Remarks

A corollary to the above discussion is that the cardinality for any compact metrizable space is either countable (including finite) or continuum (the cardinality of the real line). There is nothing in between or higher than continuum. To see this, the cardinality of any Lindelof first countable space is at most continuum according to a theorem in this previous post (any compact metric space is one such). So continuum is an upper bound on the cardinality of compact metric spaces. Theorem 3 above implies that any uncountable compact metrizable space has to contain a Cantor set, hence has cardinality continuum. So the cardinality of a compact metrizable space can be one of two possibilities – countable or continuum. Even under the assumption of the negation of the continuum hypothesis, there will be no uncountable compact metric space of cardinality less than continuum. On the other hand, there is only one possibility for the cardinality of a scattered compact metrizable, which is countable.

____________________________________________________________________

Reference

1. Arkhangelskii, A. V., Topological Function Spaces, Mathematics and Its Applications Series, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 1992.

____________________________________________________________________
$\copyright \ 2015 \text{ by Dan Ma}$

# Cartesian Products of Two Paracompact Spaces – Continued

Consider the real line $\mathbb{R}$ with a topology finer than the usual topology obtained by isolating each point in $\mathbb{P}$ where $\mathbb{P}$ is the set of all irrational numbers. The real line with this finer topology is called the Michael line and we use $\mathbb{M}$ to denote this topological space. It is a classic result that $\mathbb{M} \times \mathbb{P}$ is not normal (see “Michael Line Basics”). Even though the Michael line $\mathbb{M}$ is paracompact (it is in fact hereditarily paracompact), $\mathbb{M}$ is not perfectly normal. Result 3 below will imply that the Michael line cannot be perfectly normal. Otherwise $\mathbb{M} \times \mathbb{P}$ would be paracompact (hence normal). Result 3 is the statement that if $X$ is paracompact and perfectly normal and Y is a metric space then $X \times Y$ is paracompact and perfectly normal. We also use this result to show that if $X$ is hereditarily Lindelof and $Y$ is a separable metric space, then $X \times Y$ is hereditarily Lindelof (see Result 4 below).

This post is a continuation of the post “Cartesian Products of Two Paracompact Spaces”. In that post, four results are listed. They are:

Result 1

If $X$ is paracompact and $Y$ is compact, then $X \times Y$ is paracompact.

Result 2

If $X$ is paracompact and $Y$ is $\sigma$-compact, then $X \times Y$ is paracompact.

Result 3

If $X$ is paracompact and perfectly normal and $Y$ is metrizable, then $X \times Y$ is paracompact and perfectly normal.

Result 4

If $X$ is hereditarily Lindelof and $Y$ is a separable metric space, then $X \times Y$ is hereditarily Lindelof.

Result 1 and Result 2 are proved in the previous post “Cartesian Products of Two Paracompact Spaces”. Result 3 and Result 4 are proved in this post. All spaces are assumed to be regular.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Paracompact Spaces, Lindelof Spaces and Other Information

A paracompact space is one in which every open cover has a locally finite open refinement. The previous post “Cartesian Products of Two Paracompact Spaces” has a basic discussion on paracompact spaces. For the sake of completeness, we repeat here some of the results discussed in that post. A proof of Proposition 1 can be found in [1] (Theorem 5.1.11 in page 302) or in [2] (Theorem 20.7 in page 146).. For a proof of Proposition 2, see Theorem 3 in the previous post “Cartesian Products of Two Paracompact Spaces”. We provide a proof for Proposition 3.

Proposition 1
Let $X$ be a regular space. Then $X$ is paracompact if and only if every open cover $\mathcal{U}$ of $X$ has a $\sigma$-locally finite open refinement.

Proposition 2
Every $F_\sigma$-subset of a paracompact space is paracompact.

Proposition 3
Any paracompact space with a dense Lindelof subspace is Lindelof.

Proof of Proposition 3
Let $L$ be a paracompact space. Let $M \subset L$ be a dense Lindelof subspace. Let $\mathcal{U}$ be an open cover of $L$. Since we are working with a regular space, let $\mathcal{V}$ be an open cover of $L$ such that $\left\{\overline{V}: V \in \mathcal{V} \right\}$ refines $\mathcal{U}$. Let $\mathcal{W}$ be a locally finite open refinement of $\mathcal{V}$. Choose $\left\{W_1,W_2,W_3,\cdots \right\} \subset \mathcal{W}$ such that it is a cover of $M$. Since $M \subset \bigcup \limits_{i=1}^\infty W_i$, $\overline{\bigcup \limits_{i=1}^\infty W_i}=L$.

Since the sets $W_i$ come from a locally finite collection, they are closure preserving. Hence we have:

$\overline{\bigcup \limits_{i=1}^\infty W_i}=\bigcup \limits_{i=1}^\infty \overline{W_i}=L$

For each $i$, choose some $U_i \in \mathcal{U}$ such that $\overline{W_i} \subset U_i$. Then $\left\{U_1,U_2,U_3,\cdots \right\}$ is a countable subcollection of $\mathcal{U}$ covering the space $L$. $\blacksquare$

A space is said to be a perfectly normal if it is a normal space with the additional property that every closed subset is a $G_\delta$-set in the space (equivalently every open subset is an $F_\sigma$-set). We need two basic results about hereditarily Lindelof spaces. A space is Lindelof if every open cover of that space has a countable subcover. A space is hereditarily Lindelof if every subspace of that space is Lindelof. Proposition 4 below, stated without proof, shows that to prove a space is hereditarily Lindelof, we only need to show that every open subspace is Lindelof.

Proposition 4
Let $L$ be a space. Then $L$ is hereditarily Lindelof if and only if every open subspace of $L$ is Lindelof.

Proposition 5
Let $L$ be a Lindelof space. Then $L$ is hereditarily Lindelof if and only if $L$ is perfectly normal.

Proof of Proposition 5
$\Rightarrow$ Suppose $L$ is hereditarily Lindelof. It is well known that regular Lindelof space is normal. Thus $L$ is normal. It remains to show that every open subset of $L$ is $F_\sigma$. Let $U \subset L$ be an non-empty open set. For each $x \in U$, let $V_x$ be open such that $x \in V_x$ and $\overline{V_x} \subset U$ (the space is assumed to be regular). By assumption, the open set $U$ is Lindelof. The open sets $V_x$ form an open cover of $U$. Thus $U$ is the union of countably many $\overline{V}_x$.

$\Leftarrow$ Suppose $L$ is perfectly normal. To show that $L$ is hereditarily Lindelof, it suffices to show that every open subset of $L$ is Lindelof (by Proposition 4). Let $U \subset L$ be non-empty open. By assumption, $U=\bigcup \limits_{i=1}^\infty F_i$ where each $F_i$ is a closed set in $L$. Since the Lindelof property is hereditary with respect to closed subsets, $U$ is Lindelof. $\blacksquare$

Another important piece of information that we need is the following metrization theorem. It shows that being a metrizable space is equivalent to have a base that is $\sigma$-locally finite. In proving Result 3, we will assume that the metric factor has such a base. This is a classic metrization theorem (see [1] or [2] or any other standard topology text).

Theorem 6
Let $X$ be a space. Then $X$ is metrizable if and only if $X$ has a $\sigma$-locally finite base.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Result 3

Result 3 is the statement that:

If $X$ is paracompact and perfectly normal and Y is a metric space then $X \times Y$ is paracompact and perfectly normal.

Result 3 follows from the following two lemmas.

Lemma 7
If the following two conditions hold:

• every open subset of $X$ is an $F_\sigma$-set in $X$,
• $Y$ is a metric space,

then every open subset of $X \times Y$ is an $F_\sigma$-set in $X \times Y$.

Proof of Lemma 7
Let $U$ be a open subset of $X \times Y$. If $U=\varnothing$, then $U$ is certainly the union of countably many closed sets. So assume $U \ne \varnothing$. Let $\mathcal{B}=\bigcup \limits_{i=1}^\infty \mathcal{B}_i$ be a base for $Y$ such that each $\mathcal{B}_i$ is locally finite in $Y$ (by Theorem 6, such a base exists since $Y$ is metrizable).

Consider all non-empty $B \in \mathcal{B}$ such that we can choose nonempty open set $W_B \subset X$ with $W_B \times \overline{B} \subset U$. Since $U$ is non-empty open, such pairs $(B, W_B)$ exist. Let $\mathcal{B}^*$ be the collection of all non-empty $B \in \mathcal{B}$ for which there is a matching non-empty $W_B$. For each $i$, let $\mathcal{B}_i^*=\mathcal{B}^* \cap \mathcal{B}_i$. Of course, each $\mathcal{B}_i^*$ is still locally finite.

Since every open subset of $X$ is an $F_\sigma$-set in $X$, for each $W_B$, we can write $W_B$ as

$W_B=\bigcup \limits_{j=1}^\infty W_{B,j}$

where each $W_{B,i}$ is closed in $X$.

For each $i=1,2,3,\cdots$ and each $j=1,2,3,\cdots$, consider the following collection:

$\mathcal{V}_{i,j}=\left\{W_{B,j} \times \overline{B}: B \in \mathcal{B}_i^* \right\}$

Each element of $\mathcal{V}_{i,j}$ is a closed set in $X \times Y$. Since $\mathcal{B}_i^*$ is a locally finite collection in $Y$, $\mathcal{V}_{i,j}$ is a locally finite collection in $X \times Y$. Define $V_{i,j}=\bigcup \mathcal{V}_{i,j}$. The set $V_{i,j}$ is a union of closed sets. In general, the union of closed sets needs not be closed. However, $V_{i,j}$ is still a closed set in $X \times Y$ since $\mathcal{V}_{i,j}$ is a locally finite collection of closed sets. This is because a locally finite collection of sets is closure preserving. Note the following:

$\overline{V_{i,j}}=\overline{\bigcup \mathcal{V}_{i,j}}=\overline{\bigcup \left\{W_{B,j} \times \overline{B}: B \in \mathcal{B}_i^* \right\}}=\bigcup \left\{\overline{W_{B,j} \times \overline{B}}: B \in \mathcal{B}_i^* \right\}$

$=\bigcup \left\{W_{B,j} \times \overline{B}: B \in \mathcal{B}_i^* \right\}=V_{i,j}$

Finally, we have $U=\bigcup \limits_{i=1}^\infty \bigcup \limits_{j=1}^\infty V_{i,j}$, which is the union of countably many closed sets. $\blacksquare$

Lemma 8
If $X$ is a paracompact space satisfying the following two conditions:

• every open subset of $X$ is an $F_\sigma$-set in $X$,
• $Y$ is a metric space,

then $X \times Y$ is paracompact.

Proof of Lemma 8
As in the proof of the above lemma, let $\mathcal{B}=\bigcup \limits_{i=1}^\infty \mathcal{B}_i$ be a base for $Y$ such that each $\mathcal{B}_i$ is locally finite in $Y$. Let $\mathcal{U}$ be an open cover of $X \times Y$. Assume that elements of $\mathcal{U}$ are of the form $A \times B$ where $A$ is open in $X$ and $B \in \mathcal{B}$.

For each $B \in \mathcal{B}$, consider the following two items:

$\mathcal{W}_B=\left\{A: A \times B \in \mathcal{U} \right\}$

$W_B=\bigcup \mathcal{W}_B$

To simplify matter, we only consider $B \in \mathcal{B}$ such that $\mathcal{W}_B \ne \varnothing$. Each $W_B$ is open in $X$ and hence by assumption an $F_\sigma$-set in $X$. Thus by Proposition 2, each $W_B$ is paracompact. Note that $\mathcal{W}_B$ is an open cover of $W_B$. Let $\mathcal{H}_B$ be a locally finite open refinement of $\mathcal{W}_B$. Consider the following two items:

For each $j=1,2,3,\cdots$, let $\mathcal{V}_j=\left\{A \times B: A \in \mathcal{H}_B \text{ and } B \in \mathcal{B}_j \right\}$

$\mathcal{V}=\bigcup \limits_{j=1}^\infty \mathcal{V}_j$

We observe that $\mathcal{V}$ is an open cover of $X \times Y$ and that $\mathcal{V}$ refines $\mathcal{U}$. Furthermore each $\mathcal{V}_j$ is a locally finite collection. The open cover $\mathcal{U}$ we start with has a $\sigma$-locally finite open refinement. Thus $X \times Y$ is paracompact. $\blacksquare$

___________________________________________________________________________________

Result 4

Result 4 is the statement that:

If $X$ is hereditarily Lindelof and $Y$ is a separable metric space, then $X \times Y$ is hereditarily Lindelof.

Proof of Result 4
Suppose $X$ is hereditarily Lindelof and that $Y$ is a separable metric space. It is well known that regular Lindelof spaces are paracompact. Thus $X$ is paracompact. By Proposition 5, $X$ is perfectly normal. By Result 3, $X \times Y$ is paracompact and perfectly normal.

Let $D$ be a countable dense subset of $Y$. We can think of $D$ as a $\sigma$-compact space. The product of any Lindelof space with a $\sigma$-compact space is Lindelof (see Corollary 3 in the post “The Tube Lemma”). Thus $X \times D$ is Lindelof. Furthermore $X \times D$ is a dense Lindelof subspace of $X \times Y$. By Proposition 3, $X \times Y$ is Lindelof. By Proposition 5, $X \times Y$ is hereditarily Lindelof. $\blacksquare$

Remark
In the previous post “Bernstein Sets and the Michael Line”, a non-normal product space where one factor is Lindelof and the other factor is a separable metric space is presented. That Lindelof space is not hereditarily Lindelof (it has uncountably many isolated points). Note that by Result 4, for any such non-normal product space, the Lindelof factor cannot be hereditarily Lindelof.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Reference

1. Engelking, R., General Topology, Revised and Completed edition, Heldermann Verlag, Berlin, 1989.
2. Willard, S., General Topology, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1970.

___________________________________________________________________________________

$\copyright \ \ 2012$

# Cartesian Products of Two Paracompact Spaces

In some previous posts we discuss examples surrounding the Michael line showing that the product of a paracompact space and a complete metric space needs not be normal (see “Michael Line Basics”) and that the product of a Lindelof space and a separable metric space need not be normal (see “Bernstein Sets and the Michael Line”). These examples are classic counterexamples demonstrating that both paracompactness and Lindelofness are not preserved by taking two-factor cartesian products even when one of the factors is nice (complete metric space in the first example and separable metric space in the second example). We now show some positive results. Of course, these results require additional conditions on one or both of the factors. We prove the following results.

Result 1

If $X$ is paracompact and $Y$ is compact, then $X \times Y$ is paracompact.

Result 2

If $X$ is paracompact and $Y$ is $\sigma$-compact, then $X \times Y$ is paracompact.

Result 3

If $X$ is paracompact and perfectly normal and $Y$ is metrizable, then $X \times Y$ is paracompact and perfectly normal.

Result 4

If $X$ is hereditarily Lindelof and $Y$ is a separable metric space, then $X \times Y$ is hereditarily Lindelof.

With Results 1 and 2, compact spaces and $\sigma$-compact spaces can be called productively paracompact since the product of each of these spaces with any paracompact space is paracompact. We prove Result 1 and Result 2 below.

Result 3 and Result 4 are proved in another post Cartesian Products of Two Paracompact Spaces – Continued.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Paracompact Spaces

First, recall some definitions. All spaces are at least regular (to us regular implies Hausdorff). Let $X$ be a space. A collection $\mathcal{A}$ of subsets of $X$ is said to be a cover of $X$ if $X=\bigcup \mathcal{A}$ (in words every point of the space belongs to one set in the collection). Furthermore, $\mathcal{A}$ is an open cover of $X$ is it is a cover of $X$ consisting of open subsets of $X$.

Let $\mathcal{A}$ and $\mathcal{B}$ be covers of the space $X$. The cover $\mathcal{B}$ is said to be a refinement of $\mathcal{A}$ ($\mathcal{B}$ is said to refine $\mathcal{A}$) if for every $B \in \mathcal{B}$, there is some $A \in \mathcal{A}$ such that $B \subset A$. The cover $\mathcal{B}$ is said to be an open refinement of $\mathcal{A}$ if $\mathcal{B}$ refines $\mathcal{A}$ and $\mathcal{B}$ is an open cover.

A collection $\mathcal{A}$ of subsets of $X$ is said to be a locally finite collection if for each point $x \in X$, there is a non-empty open subset $V$ of $X$ such that $x \in V$ and $V$ has non-empty intersection with at most finitely many sets in $\mathcal{A}$. An open cover $\mathcal{A}$ of $X$ is said to have a locally finite open refinement if there exists an open cover $\mathcal{C}$ of $X$ such that $\mathcal{C}$ refines $\mathcal{A}$ and $\mathcal{C}$ is a locally finite collection. We have the following definition.

Definition

The space $X$ is said to be paracompact if every open cover of $X$ has a locally finite open refinement.

A collection $\mathcal{U}$ of subsets of the space $X$ is said to be a $\sigma$-locally finite collection if $\mathcal{U}=\bigcup \limits_{i=1}^\infty \mathcal{U}_i$ such that each $\mathcal{U}_i$ is a locally finite collection of subsets of $X$. Consider the property that every open cover of $X$ has a $\sigma$-locally finite open refinement. This on the surface is a stronger property than paracompactness. However, Theorem 1 below shows that it is actually equivalent to paracompactness. The proof of Theorem 1 can be found in [1] (Theorem 5.1.11 in page 302) or in [2] (Theorem 20.7 in page 146).

Theorem 1
Let $X$ be a regular space. Then $X$ is paracompact if and only if every open cover $\mathcal{U}$ of $X$ has a $\sigma$-locally finite open refinement.

Theorem 2 below is another characterization of paracompactness that is useful. For a proof of Theorem 2, see “Finite and Countable Products of the Michael Line”.

Theorem 2
Let $X$ be a regular space. Then $X$ is paracompact if and only if the following holds:

For each open cover $\left\{U_t: t \in T \right\}$ of $X$, there exists a locally finite open cover $\left\{V_t: t \in T \right\}$ such that $\overline{V_t} \subset U_t$ for each $t \in T$.

Theorem 3 below shows that paracompactness is hereditary with respect to $F_\sigma$-subsets.

Theorem 3
Every $F_\sigma$-subset of a paracompact space is paracompact.

Proof of Theorem 3
Let $X$ be paracompact. Let $Y \subset X$ such that $Y=\bigcup \limits_{i=1}^\infty Y_i$ where each $Y_i$ is a closed subset of $X$. Let $\mathcal{U}$ be an open cover of $Y$. For each $U \in \mathcal{U}$, let $U^*$ be open in $X$ such that $U^* \cap Y=U$.

For each $i$, let $\mathcal{U}_i^*$ be the set of all $U^*$ such that $U \cap Y_i \ne \varnothing$. Let $\mathcal{V}_i^*$ be a locally finite refinement of $\mathcal{U}_i^* \cup \left\{X-Y_i \right\}$. Let $\mathcal{V}_i$ be the following:

$\mathcal{V}_i=\left\{V \cap Y: V \in \mathcal{V}_i^* \text{ and } V \cap Y_i \ne \varnothing \right\}$

It is clear that each $\mathcal{V}_i$ is a locally finite collection of open set in $Y$ covering $Y_i$. All the $\mathcal{V}_i$ together form a refinement of $\mathcal{U}$. Thus $\mathcal{V}=\bigcup \limits_{i=1}^\infty \mathcal{V}_i$ is a $\sigma$-locally finite open refinement of $\mathcal{U}$. By Theorem 1, the $F_\sigma$-set $Y$ is paracompact. $\blacksquare$
___________________________________________________________________________________

Result 1

Result 1 is the statement that:

If $X$ is paracompact and $Y$ is compact, then $X \times Y$ is paracompact.

To prove Result 1, we use the Tube lemma (for a proof, see “The Tube Lemma”).

The Tube Lemma
Let $X$ be any space and $Y$ be compact. For each $x \in X$ and for each open set $U \subset X \times Y$ such that $\left\{x \right\} \times Y \subset U$, there is an open set $O \subset X$ such that $\left\{x \right\} \times Y \subset O \times Y \subset U$.

Proof of Result 1
Let $\mathcal{U}$ be an open cover of $X \times Y$. For each $x \in X$, choose a finite $\mathcal{U}_x \subset \mathcal{U}$ such that $\mathcal{U}_x$ is a cover of $\left\{x \right\} \times Y$. By the Tube Lemma, for each $x \in X$, there is an open set $O_x \subset X$ such that $\left\{x \right\} \times Y \subset O_x \times Y \subset \cup \mathcal{U}_x$. Since $X$ is paracompact, by Theorem 2, let $\left\{W_x: x \in X \right\}$ be a locally finite open refinement of $\left\{O_x: x \in X \right\}$ such that $W_x \subset O_x$ for each $x \in X$.

Let $\mathcal{W}=\left\{(W_x \times Y) \cap U: x \in X, U \in \mathcal{U}_x \right\}$. We claim that $\mathcal{W}$ is a locally finite open refinement of $\mathcal{U}$. First, this is an open cover of $X \times Y$. To see this, let $(a,b) \in X \times Y$. Then $a \in W_x$ for some $x \in X$. Furthermore, $a \in O_x$ and $(a,b) \in \cup \mathcal{U}_x$. Thus, $(a,b) \in (W_x \times Y) \cap U$ for some $U \in \mathcal{U}_x$. Secondly, it is clear that $\mathcal{W}$ is a refinement of the original cover $\mathcal{U}$.

It remains to show that $\mathcal{W}$ is locally finite. To see this, let $(a,b) \in X \times Y$. Then there is an open $V$ in $X$ such that $x \in V$ and $V$ can meets only finitely many $W_x$. Then $V \times Y$ can meet only finitely many sets in $\mathcal{W}$. $\blacksquare$

___________________________________________________________________________________

Result 2

Result 2 is the statement that:

If $X$ is paracompact and $Y$ is $\sigma$-compact, then $X \times Y$ is paracompact.

Proof of Result 2
Note that the $\sigma$-compact space $Y$ is Lindelof. Since regular Lindelof are normal, $Y$ is normal and is thus completely regular. So we can embed $Y$ into a compact space $K$. For example, we can let $K=\beta Y$, which is the Stone-Cech compactification of $Y$ (see “Embedding Completely Regular Spaces into a Cube”). For our purpose here, any compact space containing $Y$ will do. By Result 1, $X \times K$ is paracompact. Note that $X \times Y$ can be regarded as a subspace of $X \times K$.

Let $Y=\bigcup \limits_{i=1}^\infty Y_i$ where each $Y_i$ is compact in $Y$. Note that $X \times Y=\bigcup \limits_{i=1}^\infty X \times Y_i$ and each $X \times Y_i$ is a closed subset of $X \times K$. Thus the product $X \times Y$ is an $F_\sigma$-subset of $X \times K$. According to Theorem 3, $F_\sigma$-subsets of any paracompact space is paracompact space. Thus $X \times Y$ is paracompact. $\blacksquare$

___________________________________________________________________________________

Reference

1. Engelking, R., General Topology, Revised and Completed edition, Heldermann Verlag, Berlin, 1989.
2. Willard, S., General Topology, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1970.

___________________________________________________________________________________

$\copyright \ \ 2012$

# Sorgenfrey Line is not a Moore Space

We found an incorrect statement about the Sorgenfrey line in an entry in Wikipedia about Moore space (link). This statement opens up a discussion on the question of whether the Sorgenfrey line is a Moore space as well as a discussion on Moore space. The following is the incorrect statement found in Wikipedia by the author.

The Sorgenfrey line is the space whose underlying set is the real line $S=\mathbb{R}$ where the topology is generated by a base consisting the half open intervals of the form $[a,b)$. The Sorgenfrey plane is the square $S \times S$.

Even though the Sorgenfrey line is normal, the Sorgenfrey plane is not normal. In fact, the Sorgenfrey line is the classic example of a normal space whose square is not normal. Both the Sorgenfrey line and the Sorgenfrey plane are not Moore space but not for the reason given. The statement seems to suggest that any normal Moore space is second countable. But this flies in the face of all the profound mathematics surrounding the normal Moore space conjecture, which is also discussed in the Wikipedia entry.

The statement indicated above is only a lead-in to a discussion of Moore space. We are certain that it will be corrected. We always appreciate readers who kindly alert us to errors found in this blog.

______________________________________________________________________________

Moore Spaces

Let $X$ be a regular space. A development for $X$ is a sequence $\mathcal{G}_1,\mathcal{G}_2,\mathcal{G}_3,\cdots$ of open covers of $X$ such that for each $x \in X$, and for each open subset $U$ of $X$ with $x \in U$, there exists one cover $\mathcal{G}_n$ satisfying the condition that for any open set $V \in \mathcal{G}_n$, $x \in V \Rightarrow V \subset U$. When $X$ has a development, $X$ is said to be a Moore space (also called developable space). A Note On The Sorgenfrey Line is an introductory note on the Sorgenfrey line.

Moore spaces can be viewed as a generalization of metrizable spaces. Moore spaces are first countable (having a countable base at each point). For a development $\mathcal{G}_1,\mathcal{G}_2,\mathcal{G}_3,\cdots$, the open sets in $\mathcal{G}_n$ are considered “smaller” as the index $n$ increases. In fact, this is how a development is defined for a metric space, where $\mathcal{G}_n$ consists of all open balls with diameters less than $\frac{1}{n}$. Thus metric spaces are developable. There are plenty of non-metrizable Moore space. One example is the Niemytzki’s Tangent Disc space.

In a Moore space, every closed set is a $G_\delta$-set. Thus if a Moore space is normal, it is perfectly normal. Any Moore space has a $G_\delta$-diagonal (the diagonal $\Delta=\left\{(x,x): x \in X \right\}$ is a $G_\delta$-set in $X \times X$). It is a well known theorem that every compact space with a $G_\delta$-diagonal is metrizable. Thus any compact Moore space is metrizable.

The last statement can be shown more directly. Suppose that $X$ is compact and has a development $\mathcal{G}_1,\mathcal{G}_2,\mathcal{G}_3,\cdots$. Then each $\mathcal{G}_n$ has a finite subcover $\mathcal{H}_n$. Then $\bigcup_{n=1}^\infty \mathcal{H}_n$ is a countable base for $X$. Thus any compact Moore space is second countable and hence metrizable.

What about paracompact Moore space? Suppose that $X$ is paracompact and has a development $\mathcal{G}_1,\mathcal{G}_2,\mathcal{G}_3,\cdots$. Then each $\mathcal{G}_n$ has a locally finite open refinement $\mathcal{H}_n$. Then $\bigcup_{n=1}^\infty \mathcal{H}_n$ is a $\sigma$-locally finite base for $X$. The Smirnov-Nagata metrization theorem states that a space is metrizable if and only if it has a $\sigma$-locally finite base (see Theorem 23.9 on page 170 of [2]). Thus any paracompact Moore space has a $\sigma$-locally finite base and is thus metrizable (after using the big gun of the Smirnov-Nagata metrization theorem).

______________________________________________________________________________

Sorgenfrey Line

The Sorgenfrey line is regular and Lindelof. Hence it is paracompact. Since the Sorgenfrey line is not metrizable, by the above discussion it cannot be a Moore space. The Sorgenfrey plane is also not a Moore space. Note that being a Moore space is a hereditary property. So if the Sorgenfrey plane is a Moore space, then every subspace of the Sorgenfrey plane (including the Sorgenfrey line) is a Moore space.

The following theorem is another way to show that the Sorgenfrey line is not a Moore space.

Bing’s Metrization Theorem
A topological space is metrizable if and only if it is a collectionwise normal Moore space.

Every paracompact space is collectionwise normal (see Theorem 5.1.18, p.305 of [1]). Thus the Sorgenfrey line is collectionwise normal and hence cannot be a Moore space. A space $X$ is said to be collectionwise normal if $X$ is a $T_1$-space and for every discrete collection $\left\{W_\alpha: \alpha \in A \right\}$ of closed sets in $X$, there exists a discrete collection $\left\{V_\alpha: \alpha \in A \right\}$ of open subsets of $X$ such that $W_\alpha \subset V_\alpha$. For a proof of Bing’s metrization theorem, see page 329 of [1].

______________________________________________________________________________

Remark

The normal Moore space conjecture is the statement that every normal Moore space is metrizable. This conjecture had been one of the key motivating questions for many set theorists and topologists during a large part of the twentieth century. The bottom line is that this statement cannot not be decided just on the basis of the set of generally accepted axioms called Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory with the axiom of choice, commonly abbreviated ZFC. But Bing’s metrization theorem states that if we strengthen normality to collectionwise normality, we have a definite answer.

______________________________________________________________________________

Reference

1. Engelking, R., General Topology, Revised and Completed edition, Heldermann Verlag, Berlin, 1989.
2. Willard, S., General Topology, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1970.

______________________________________________________________________________

$\copyright \ \ 2012$

# A Space with G-delta Diagonal that is not Submetrizable

The property of being submetrizable implies having a $G_\delta$-diagonal. There are several other properties lying between these two properties (see [1]). Before diving into these other properties, it may be helpful to investigate a classic example of a space with a $G_\delta$-diagonal that is not submetrizable.

The diagonal of a space $X$ is the set $\Delta=\left\{(x,x): x \in X \right\}$, a subset of the square $X \times X$. An interesting property is when the diagonal of a space is a $G_\delta$-set in $X \times X$ (the space is said to have a $G_\delta$-diagonal). Any compact space or a countably compact space with this property must be metrizable (see compact and countably compact space). A space $(X,\tau)$ is said to be submetrizable if there is a topology $\tau^*$ that can be defined on $X$ such that $(X,\tau^*)$ is a metrizable space and $\tau^* \subset \tau$. In other words, a submetrizable space is a space that has a coarser (weaker) metrizable topology. Every submetrizable space has a $G_\delta$-diagonal. Note that when $X$ has a weaker metric topology, the diagonal $\Delta$ is always a $G_\delta$-set in the metric square $X \times X$ (hence in the square in the original topology). The property of having a $G_\delta$-diagonal is strictly weaker than the property of having a weaker metric topology. In this post, we discuss the Mrowka space, which is a classic example of a space with a $G_\delta$-diagonal that is not submetrizable.

The Mrowka space (also called Psi space) was discussed previously in this blog (see this post). For the sake of completeness, the example is defined here.

First, we define some basic notions. Let $\omega$ be the first infinite ordinal (or more conveniently the set of all nonnegative integers). Let $\mathcal{A}$ be a family of infinite subsets of $\omega$. The family $\mathcal{A}$ is said to be an almost disjoint family if for each two distinct $A,B \in \mathcal{A}$, $A \cap B$ is finite. An almost disjoint family $\mathcal{A}$ is said to be a maximal almost disjoint family if $B$ is an infinite subset of $\omega$ such that $B \notin \mathcal{A}$, then $B \cap A$ is infinite for some $A \in \mathcal{A}$. In other words, if you put one more set into a maximal almost disjoint family, it ceases to be almost disjoint.

A natural question is whether there is an uncountable almost disjoint family of subsets of $\omega$. In fact, there is one whose cardinality is continuum (the cardinality of the real line). To see this, identify $\omega$ with $\mathbb{Q}=\lbrace{r_0,r_1,r_2,...}\rbrace$ (the set of all rational numbers). Let $\mathbb{P}=\mathbb{R}-\mathbb{Q}$ be the set of all irrational numbers. For each $x \in \mathbb{P}$, choose a subsequence of $\mathbb{Q}$ consisting of distinct elements that converges to $x$ (in the Euclidean topology). Then the family of all such sequences of rational numbers would be an almost disjoint family. By a Zorn’s Lemma argument, this almost disjoint family is contained within a maximal almost disjoint family. Thus we also have a maximal almost disjoint family of cardinality continuum. On the other hand, there is no countably infinite maximal almost disjoint family of subsets of $\omega$ (see this post).

Let $\mathcal{A}$ be an infinite almost disjoint family of subsets of $\omega$. We now define a Mrowka space (or $\Psi$-space), denoted by $\Psi(\mathcal{A})$. The underlying set is $\Psi(\mathcal{A})=\mathcal{A} \cup \omega$. Points in $\omega$ are isolated. For $A \in \mathcal{A}$, a basic open set is of the form $\lbrace{A}\rbrace \cup (A-F)$ where $F \subset \omega$ is finite. It is straightforward to verify that $\Psi(\mathcal{A})$ is Hausdorff, first countable and locally compact. It has a countable dense set of isolated points. Note that $\mathcal{A}$ is an infinite discrete and closed set in the space $\Psi(\mathcal{A})$. Thus $\Psi(\mathcal{A})$ is not countably compact.

We would like to point out that the definition of a Mrowka space $\Psi(\mathcal{A})$ only requires that the family $\mathcal{A}$ is an almost disjoint family and does not necessarily have to be maximal. For the example discribed in the title, $\mathcal{A}$ needs to be a maximal almost disjoint family of subsets of $\omega$.

__________________________________________________________________________

Example
Let $\mathcal{A}$ be a maximal almost disjoint family of subsets of $\omega$. Then $\Psi(\mathcal{A})$ as defined above is a space in which there is a $G_\delta$-diagonal that is not submetrizable.

Note that $\Psi(\mathcal{A})$ is pseudocompact (proved in this post). Because there is no countable maximal almost disjoint family of subsets of $\omega$, $\mathcal{A}$ must be an uncountable in addition to being a closed and discrete subspace of $\Psi(\mathcal{A})$ (thus the space is not Lindelof). Since $\Psi(\mathcal{A})$ is separable and is not Lindelof, $\Psi(\mathcal{A})$ is not metrizable. Any psuedocompact submetrizable space is metrizable (see Theorem 4 in this post). Thus $\Psi(\mathcal{A})$ must not be submetrizable.

On the other hand, any $\Psi$-space $\Psi(\mathcal{A})$ (even if $\mathcal{A}$ is not maximal) is a Moore space. It is well known that any Moore space has a $G_\delta$-diagonal. The remainder of this post has a brief discussion of Moore space.

__________________________________________________________________________

Moore Space

A sequence $\lbrace{\mathcal{D}_n}\rbrace_{n<\omega}$ of open covers of a space $X$ is a development for $X$ if for each $x \in X$ and each open set $U \subset X$ with $x \in U$, there is some $n$ such that any open set in $\mathcal{D}_n$ containing the point $x$ is contained in $U$. A developable space is one that has a development. A Moore space is a regular developable space.

Suppose that $X$ is a Moore space. We show that $X$ has a $G_\delta$-diagonal. That is, we wish to show that $\Delta=\left\{(x,x): x \in X \right\}$ is a $G_\delta$-set in $X \times X$.

Let $\lbrace{\mathcal{D}_n}\rbrace_{n<\omega}$ be a development. For each $n$, let $U_n=\bigcup \lbrace{V \times V:V \in \mathcal{D}_n}\rbrace$. Clearly $\Delta \subset \bigcap_{n<\omega} U_n$. Let $(x,y) \in \bigcap_{n<\omega} U_n$. For each $n$, $(x,y) \in V_n \times V_n$ for some $V_n \in \mathcal{D}_n$. We claim that $x=y$. Suppose that $x \ne y$. By the definition of development, there exists some $m$ such that every open set in $\mathcal{D}_m$ containing the point $x$ has to be a subset of $X-\left\{y \right\}$. Then $V_m \subset X-\left\{y \right\}$, which contradicts $y \in V_m$. Thus we have $\Delta = \bigcap_{n<\omega} U_n$.

The remaining thing to show is that $\Psi(\mathcal{A})$ is a Moore space. For each positive integer $n$, let $F_n=\left\{0,1,\cdots,n-1 \right\}$ and let $F_0=\varnothing$. The development is defined by $\lbrace{\mathcal{E}_n}\rbrace_{n<\omega}$, where for each $n$, $\mathcal{E}_n$ consists of open sets of the form $\lbrace{A}\rbrace \cup (A-F_n)$ where $A \in \mathcal{A}$ plus any singleton $\left\{j \right\}$ ($j \in \omega$) that has not been covered by the sets $\lbrace{A}\rbrace \cup (A-F_n)$.

Reference

1. Arhangel’skii, A. V., Buzyakova, R. Z., The rank of the diagonal and submetrizability, Commentationes Mathematicae Universitatis Carolinae, Vol. 47 (2006), No. 4, 585-597.
2. Engelking, R., General Topology, Revised and Completed edition, Heldermann Verlag, Berlin, 1989.
3. Willard, S., General Topology, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1970.

# When is a Pseudocompact Space Metrizable?

Compactness, countably compactness and pseudocompactness are three successively weaker properties. It follows easily from definitions that

$(A) \ \ \ \ \ \text{compact} \Rightarrow \text{countably compact} \Rightarrow \text{pseudocompact}$

None of these arrows can be reversed. It is well known that either compactness or countably complactness plus having a $G_\delta$-diagonal implies metrizability. We have:

$(B) \ \ \ \ \ \text{compact} + \text{having a } G_\delta \text{-diagonal} \Rightarrow \text{metrizable}$

$(C) \ \ \ \ \ \text{countably compact} + \text{having a } G_\delta \text{-diagonal} \Rightarrow \text{metrizable}$

A question can be asked whether these results can be extended to pseudocompactness.

Question $(D) \ \ \ \ \ \text{pseudocompact compact} + \text{having a } G_\delta \text{-diagonal} \Rightarrow \text{metrizable?}$

The answer to this question is no. The space defined using a maximal almost disjoint family of subsets of $\omega$ is an example of a non-metrizable pseudocompact space with a $G_\delta$-diagonal (discussed in this post). In this post we show that if we strengthen “having a $G_\delta$-diagonal” to being submetrizable, we have a theorem. Specifically, we show:

$(E) \ \ \ \ \ \text{pseudocompact} + \text{submetrizable} \Rightarrow \text{metrizable}$

For the result of $(B)$, see this post. For the result of $(C)$, see this post. In this post, we discuss the basic properties of pseudocompactness that build up to the result of $(E)$. All spaces considered here are at least Tychonoff (i.e. completely regular). For any basic notions not defined here, see [1] or [2].

________________________________________________________________________

Pseudocompact Spaces

A space $X$ is said to be pseudocompact if every real-valued continuous function defined on $X$ is a bounded function. Any real-valued continuous function defined on a compact space must be bounded (and is thus pseudocomppact). If there were an unbounded real-valued continuous function defined on a space $X$, then $X$ would have a countably infinite discrete set (thus not countably compact). Thus countably compact implies pseudocompact, as indicated by $(A)$.

A space $X$ is submetrizable if there is a coarser (i.e. weaker) topology that is a metrizable topology. Specifically the topological space $(X,\tau)$ is submetrizable if there is another topology $\tau^*$ that can be defined on $X$ such that $\tau^* \subset \tau$ and $(X,\tau^*)$ is metrizable. The Sorgenfrey line is non-metrizable and yet the Sorgenfrey topology has a weaker topology that is metrizable, namely the Euclidean topology of the real line.

The following two theorems characterizes pseudocompact spaces in terms of locally finite open family of open sets (Theorem 1) and the finite intersection property (Theorem 2). Both theorems are found in Engelking (Theorem 3.10.22 and Theorem 3.10.23 in page 207 of [1]). Theorem 3 states that in a pseudocompact space, closed domains are pseudocompact (the definition of closed domain is stated before the theorem). Theorem 4 is the main theorem (result $E$ stated above).

Theorem 1
Let $X$ be a space. The following conditions are equivalent:

1. The space $X$ is pseudocompact.
2. If $\mathcal{V}$ is a locally finite family of non-empty open subsets of $X$, then $\mathcal{V}$ is finite.
3. If $\mathcal{V}$ is a locally finite open cover of $X$, then $\mathcal{V}$ is finite.
4. If $\mathcal{V}$ is a locally finite open cover of $X$, then $\mathcal{V}$ has a finite subcover.

Proof
$1 \Rightarrow 2$
Suppose that condition $2$ does not hold. Then there is an infinite locally finite family of non-empty open sets $\mathcal{V}$ such that $\mathcal{V}=\left\{V_1,V_2,V_3,\cdots \right\}$. We wish to define an unbounded continuous function using $\mathcal{V}$.

This is where we need to invoke the assumption of complete regularity. For each $n$ choose a point $x_n \in V_n$. Then for each $n$, there is a continuous function $f_n:X \rightarrow [0,n]$ such that $f_n(x_n)=n$ and $f_n(X-V_n) \subset \left\{ 0 \right\}$. Define $f:X \rightarrow [0,\infty)$ by $f(x)=f_1(x)+f_2(x)+f_3(x)+\cdots$.

Because $\mathcal{V}$ is locally finite, the function $f$ is essentially pointwise the sum of finitely many $f_n$. In other words, for each $x \in X$, for some positive integer $N$, $f_j(x)=0$ for all $j \ge N$. Thus the function $f$ is well defined and is continuous at each $x \in X$. Note that for each $x_n$, $f(x_n) \ge n$, showing that it is unbounded.

The directions $2 \Rightarrow 3$ and $3 \Rightarrow 4$ are clear.

$4 \Rightarrow 1$
Let $g:X \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$ be a continuous function. We want to show that $g$ is a bounded function. Consider the open family $\mathcal{O}=\left\{\cdots,O_{-3},O_{-2},O_{-1},O_0,O_1,O_2,O_3,\cdots \right\}$ where each $O_n=g^{-1}((n,n+2))$. Note that $\mathcal{O}$ is a locally finite family in $X$ since its members $O_n=g^{-1}((n,n+2))$ are inverse images of members of a locally finite family in the range space $\mathbb{R}$. By condition $4$, $\mathcal{O}$ has a finite subcover, leading to the conclusion that $g$ is a bounded function. $\blacksquare$

Theorem 2
Let $X$ be a space. The following conditions are equivalent:

1. The space $X$ is pseudocompact.
2. If $\mathcal{O}=\left\{O_1,O_2,O_3,\cdots \right\}$ is a family of non-empty open subsets of $X$ such that $O_n \supset O_{n+1}$ for each $n$, then $\bigcap \limits_{n=1}^\infty \overline{O_n} \ne \varnothing$.
3. If $\mathcal{V}=\left\{V_1,V_2,V_3,\cdots \right\}$ is a family of non-empty open subsets of $X$ such that $\mathcal{V}$ has the finite intersection property, then $\bigcap \limits_{n=1}^\infty \overline{V_n} \ne \varnothing$.

Proof
$1 \Rightarrow 2$
Suppose that $X$ is pseudocompact. Suppose $\mathcal{O}=\left\{O_1,O_2,O_3,\cdots \right\}$ satisfies the hypothesis of condition $2$. If there is some positive integer $m$ such that $O_n=O_m$ for all $n \ge m$, then we are done. So assume that $O_n$ are distinct for infinitely many $n$. According to condition $2$ in Theorem 1, $\mathcal{O}$ must not be a locally finite family. Then there exists a point $x \in X$ such that every open set containing $x$ must meet infinitely many $O_n$. This implies that $x \in \overline{O_n}$ for infinitely many $n$. Thus $x \in \bigcap \limits_{n=1}^\infty \overline{O_n}$.

$2 \Rightarrow 3$
Suppose $\mathcal{V}=\left\{V_1,V_2,V_3,\cdots \right\}$ is a family of non-empty open sets with the finite intersection property as in the hypothesis of $3$. Then let $O_1=V_1$, $O_2=V_1 \cap V_2$, $O_3=V_1 \cap V_2 \cap V_3$, and so on. By condition $2$, we have $\bigcap \limits_{n=1}^\infty \overline{O_n} \ne \varnothing$, which implies $\bigcap \limits_{n=1}^\infty \overline{V_n} \ne \varnothing$.

$3 \Rightarrow 1$
Let $g:X \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$ be a continuous function such that $g$ is unbounded. For each positive integer $n$, let $V_n=\left\{x \in X: \lvert g(x) \lvert > n \right\}$. Clearly the open sets $V_n$ have the finite intersection property. Because $g$ is unbounded, it follows that $\bigcap \limits_{n=1}^\infty \overline{V_n} = \varnothing$. $\blacksquare$

Let $X$ be a space. Let $A \subset X$. The interior of $A$, denoted by $\text{int}(A)$, is the set of all points $x \in X$ such that there exists an open set $O$ with $x \in O \subset A$. Points of $\text{int}(A)$ are called the interior points of $A$. A subset $C \subset X$ is said to be a closed domain if $C=\overline{\text{int}(C)}$. It is clear that $C$ is a closed domain if and only if $C$ is the closure of an open set.

Theorem 3
The property of being a pseudocompact space is hereditary with respect to subsets that are closed domains.

Proof
Let $X$ be a pseudocompact space. We show that $\overline{U}$ is pseudocompact for any nonempty open set $U \subset X$. Let $Y=\overline{U}$ where $U$ is a non-empty open subset of $X$. Let $S_1 \supset S_2 \supset S_3 \supset \cdots$ be a decreasing sequence of open subsets of $Y$. Note that each $S_i$ contains points of the open set $U$. Let $O_i=S_i \cap U$ for each $i$. Note that the open sets $O_i$ form a decreasing sequence of open sets in the pseudocompact space $X$. By Theorem 2, we have $\bigcap \limits_{n=1}^\infty \overline{O_n} \ne \varnothing$ (closure here is with respect to $X$). Note that points in $\bigcap \limits_{n=1}^\infty \overline{O_n}$ are also points in $\bigcap \limits_{n=1}^\infty \overline{S_n}$ (closure with respect to $Y$). By Theorem 2, $Y=\overline{U}$ is pseudocompact. $\blacksquare$

Theorem 4 (Statement $E$ above)
Let $X$ be a pseudocompact submetrizable space. Then $X$ is metrizable.

Proof
Let $(X,\tau)$ be a pseudocompact submetrizable space. Then there exists topology $\tau^*$ on $X$ such $(X,\tau^*)$ is metrizable and $\tau^* \subset \tau$. We show that $\tau \subset \tau^*$, leading to the conclusion that $(X,\tau)$ is also metrizable. If $A \subset X$, we denote the closure of $A$ in $(X,\tau)$ by $cl_{\tau}(A)$ and the closure of $A$ in $(X,\tau^*)$ by $cl_{\tau^*}(A)$.

To show that $\tau \subset \tau^*$, we show any closed set with respect to the topology $\tau$ is also a closed set with respect to the topology $\tau^*$. Let $C$ be a closed set in $(X,\tau)$. Consider the family $\mathcal{W}=\left\{cl_{\tau}(U): U \in \tau \text{ and } C \subset U \right\}$. We make the following claims.

Claim 1. $C=\bigcap \left\{W: W \in \mathcal{W} \right\}$.

Claim 2. Each $W \in \mathcal{W}$ is pseudocompact in $(X,\tau)$.

Claim 3. Each $W \in \mathcal{W}$ is pseudocompact in $(X,\tau^*)$.

Claim 4. Each $W \in \mathcal{W}$ is compact in $(X,\tau^*)$.

We now discuss each of these four claims. For Claim 1, it is clear that $C \subset \bigcap \left\{W: W \in \mathcal{W} \right\}$. The reverse set inclusion follows from the fact that $X$ is a regular space. Claim 2 follows from Theorem 3. Note that sets in $\mathcal{W}$ are closed domains in the pseudocompact space $(X,\tau)$.

If sets in $\mathcal{W}$ are pseudocompact in the larger topology $\tau$, they would be pseudocompact in the weaker topology $\tau^*$ too. Thus Claim 3 is established. In a metrizable space, compactness and weaker notions such as countably compactness and pseudocompactness coincide. Because they are pseudocompact subsets, sets in $\mathcal{W}$ are compact in the metrizable space $(X,\tau^*)$. Thus Claim 4 is established.

It follows that $C$ is closed in $(X,\tau^*)$ since it is the intersection of compact sets in $(X,\tau^*)$. Thus $(X,\tau)$ is identical to $(X,\tau^*)$, implying that $(X,\tau)$ is metrizable. $\blacksquare$

Reference

1. Engelking, R., General Topology, Revised and Completed edition, 1989, Heldermann Verlag, Berlin.
2. Willard, S., General Topology, 1970, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
|