Given topological spaces $X$ and $Y$, we define an open map from $X$ to $Y$ to be a map of sets $f\colon X\to Y$ satisfying the following condition:
- For each $U\in\mathcal{P}(X)$, if $U$ is open in $X$, then $f_*(U)$ is open in $Y$.
Here $f_*(U):=\{f(x)\in Y\ |\ x\in X\}$ is the direct image of $U$ by $f$, which sits in a triple adjunction $$f_*\dashv f^{-1}\dashv f_!\colon\mathcal{P}(X)\underset{\leftrightarrows}{\rightarrow}\mathcal{P}(Y),$$ where $f^{-1}$ is the inverse image, and where $f_!$, the “direct image with compact support”, is given by $$f_!(U):=\{y\in Y\ |\ f^{-1}(y)\subset U\}.$$ It can be sometimes useful to break down $f_!(U)$ into two sets: $$f_!(U):=f_{!,\mathrm{im}}(U)\cup f_{!,\mathrm{cp}}(U),$$ where \begin{align*} f_{!,\mathrm{im}}(U) &= f_!(U)\cap\mathrm{Im}(f),\\ f_{!,\mathrm{cp}}(U) &= f_!(U)\cap(Y\setminus\mathrm{Im}(f))\\ &= Y\setminus\mathrm{Im}(f). \end{align*} For example, if $f\colon\mathbb{N}\to\mathbb{N}$ is given by $f(n)=2n$, then $f_{!,\mathrm{im}}(U)=f_*(U)$ and $f_{!,\mathrm{cp}}(U)=\{\text{odd natural numbers}\}$ for $U\subset\mathbb{N}$.
Now, define a “weird-open map from $X$ to $Y$” as a map of sets $f\colon X\to Y$ satisfying the following condition:
- For each $U\in\mathcal{P}(X)$, if $U$ is open in $X$, then $f_!(U)$ is open in $Y$.
Since $f_!(U)$ contains $Y\setminus\mathrm{Im}(f)$, it's useful to also make the following relative definition: a “relatively weird-open map from $X$ to $Y$” as a map of sets $f\colon X\to Y$ such that:
- For each $U\in\mathcal{P}(X)$, if $U$ is open in $X$, then $f_!(U)\cap\mathrm{Im}(f)$ is open in $\mathrm{Im}(f)$.
Questions.
Is this an already studied notion (with a proper name)?
Are there any useful applications of it? (Be them in topology, analysis, algebraic geometry, etc.)
Regarding 2), an immediate property of $f_!$ that comes to mind is that it induces a further adjoint when passing to presheaves: a continuous map $f\colon X\to Y$ induces adjoint functors $$f^*\dashv f_*\dashv f_!\colon\mathsf{PSh}(Y)\underset{\leftrightarrows}{\rightarrow}\mathsf{PSh}(X),$$ and if $f$ is weird-open, there's an extra right adjoint $f_\dagger$ of $f_!$. (Here the relative notion is useful, for which we have a "locally defined adjoint" $f_\dagger\colon\mathsf{PSh}(X)\to\mathsf{PSh}(\mathrm{Im}(f))$.)
Is $f_\dagger$ useful in practice?