All Questions
5,184 questions
65
votes
14
answers
6k
views
Notions of convergence not corresponding to topologies
This question concerns the ramifications of the following interesting problem that
appeared on Ed Nelson's final exam on Functional Analysis some years ago:
Exam question: Is there a metric on the ...
- 801
1
vote
0
answers
141
views
Can a closed null-homotopic curve be filled in by a disc?
Let $U\subseteq\Bbb R^n$ be an open set and $\gamma\subset U$ a closed null-homotopic curve in $U$ (i.e. it can be contracted to a point). Then is there an embedded disc $D\subset U$ with boundary $\...
- 13.6k
1
vote
2
answers
248
views
A few questions about Tychonoff plank
In the Morita's following article (K. Morita. Some properties of M-spaces), constructing an space $X$ and defining an identification on it.
My first question is how to prove that $S$ is countably ...
- 1,367
0
votes
0
answers
51
views
Approximating open subset of profinite group by union of cosets of ideal
I am trying to understand the proof of Theorem 1.3 in this paper by poonen. Poonen refers to Lemma 20 in a different paper. He claims that the open subset $U_P \subseteq \hat{\mathcal{O}}_P$ can be ...
- 1
4
votes
0
answers
155
views
Two other variants of Arhangel'skii's Problem
This question is a follow up to another question of mine, which turned out to be easy (for background on Arhangel'skii's Problem see Arhangel'skii's problem revisited). Recall that a space is ...
- 4,413
14
votes
1
answer
581
views
How “disconnected” can a continuum be?
A continuum is a compact connected metrizable topological space.
Given a cardinal $\kappa$, a topological space $X$ is called $\kappa$-connected if it is not possible to write $X$ as the disjoint ...
- 3,011
8
votes
2
answers
362
views
Is every contractible homogeneous space of a connected Lie group homeomorphic to a Euclidean space?
Problem. Let $G$ be a connected Lie group and $H$ is a closed subgroup of $G$ such that the homogeneous space $G/H$ is contractible. Is $G/H$ homeomorphic to a Euclidean space $\mathbb R^n$ for some $...
- 42k
2
votes
1
answer
171
views
Is the collapse of a totally disconnected compact Hausdorff space still totally disconnected?
Let $S$ be a totally disconnected compact Hausdorff space and let $A\subset S$ be a closed subset. Let $S/A$ denote the space we get when collapsing $A$ to a point. Is this space still totally ...
user473423
0
votes
1
answer
109
views
Extending maps from a discrete set to a Stone-Čech compactification while retaining an injectivity condition
For $S$ a set, let $\beta_{\bf2}(S)$ be a compact, totally disconnected space containing $S$ where $S$ in the subspace topology is discrete and $S$ is a dense subspace, and $\beta_{\bf2}(S)$ has the ...
- 1,644
3
votes
2
answers
257
views
Cancelable commutative monoids with finite maximal subgroups
Suppose $\mathcal{M} = (M, +, 0)$ is a cancelable commutative monoid. Let $G$ be the maximal subgroup of $M$, i.e.
$$G = \{ a \in M \colon (\exists b \in M)\, a + b = 0 \}.$$
For $a, b \in M$ say $a \...
- 2,221
18
votes
0
answers
1k
views
"Next steps" after TQFT?
(Disclaimer: I'm rather nervous that this isn't appropriate for MathOverflow, but given the contents of my question I don't really know a better place to ask something like this.)
Recently, I've been ...
- 377
0
votes
0
answers
117
views
Example of a metrizable space that is not an ANR
I have been looking for an example of a metrizable space that is not an absolute neighborhood retract (ANR).
Recall that a metrizable space $X$ is called an ANR if there exists an open set $U$ in a ...
- 506
7
votes
1
answer
501
views
Non-homeomorphic connected one-dimensional Hausdorff spaces that have continuous bijections between them in both sides
I need to construct an example of two non-homeomorphic connected one-dimensional Hausdorff spaces that have continuous bijections between them in both sides. Spaces should have induced ("good&...
- 73
9
votes
1
answer
734
views
Does the category of locally compact Hausdorff spaces with proper maps have products?
nlab presents a proof that the category of locally compact Hausdorff spaces does not admit infinite products in general. In particular it shows that there is no infinite product of $\mathbb{R}$, since ...
- 295
4
votes
1
answer
182
views
Given $f$ from the cylinder $C$ to the interval constant on one boundary, is there a $r:C\to C$ constant on a boundary with $f\circ r = f$?
My question might be trivial, but my lack of knowledge of this particular subject has not enabled me to find the answer. What I want to know is the following. Let $I=[0,1]$ and $C=S^1\times I$ be the ...
- 1,855
0
votes
0
answers
303
views
Proof that a first integral is not a constant function
Let $U$ be an (open) set in $\mathbb{R}^n$. And we are given a set of $m$ basis functions
$$B=\{\psi_i(x): U \rightarrow \mathbb{R}\mid i=1,\ldots,m \}$$
such that all of them are differentiable and ...
- 247
19
votes
2
answers
804
views
Existence of a *really* nice topology on the powerset of a topological space
TL;DR. Given a topological space $X$, is there a natural way to "induce" a topology on $\mathcal{P}(X)$ from the topology of $X$ in such a way that 1) all the basic operations of set theory (...
- 11.8k
1
vote
1
answer
72
views
Is this notion of being "fully" convex closed under set addition?
While reading through "Linear Operators: General theory" by "Jacob T. Schwartz", reading the corollary to II.10.1 which states that for a compact convex subset $C$ of some ...
- 204
4
votes
2
answers
156
views
Does there exist a non-hemicompact regular space for which the 2nd player in the $K$-Rothberger game has a winning Markov strategy?
Assume spaces are regular.
A space is $\sigma$-compact if and only if the second player in the Menger game has a winning Markov strategy (relying on only the most recent move of the opponent and the ...
- 1,412
16
votes
1
answer
481
views
Where can I learn more about the topology on $\mathbb{R}$ induced by the map $\mathbb{R} \to \prod_{a>0} (\mathbb{R}/a\mathbb{Z})$?
Consider the (continuous, injective, abelian group homomorphism) map $\Phi \colon \mathbb{R} \to \prod_{a>0} (\mathbb{R}/a\mathbb{Z})$ (where the target is given the product topology) taking $x\in \...
- 32.5k
3
votes
0
answers
200
views
Contractibility of the pseudo-boundary of the Hilbert cube
Let the separable Hilbert cube $Q=\prod_{i=1}^{+\infty}[0,1]$ embed into the real Hilbert space $H=l^2(\mathbb{Z}^+)$, whose coordinate unit vectors are $\{ e_i \}_{i=1}^{+\infty}$, as the subset $\...
- 1,543
5
votes
2
answers
223
views
Continuous functions on $[0,1]^\omega$ and a product lower bound
I have a concrete question about continuous functions on $X = [0,1]^\omega$ (with the product topology).
The map $f:X\to [0, 1]$ given by $(x_i)\mapsto \prod x_i$ is well-defined and Borel but not ...
- 53
5
votes
1
answer
288
views
Extreme amenability of topological groups and invariant means
Recently I'm reading the paper Ramsey–Milman phenomenon, Urysohn metric spaces, and extremely amenable groups by Pestov. When it comes to the definition of an extremely amenable topological group, it ...
- 225
8
votes
1
answer
181
views
Stone-topological/profinite equivalence for quandles
A quandle $(Q,\triangleleft,\triangleleft^{-1})$ is a set $Q$ with two binary operations $\triangleleft,\triangleleft^{-1}:Q\times Q\to Q$ such that the following hold for all $x,y,z\in Q$:
(Q1) ...
- 253
76
votes
9
answers
15k
views
understanding Steenrod squares
There is a function on $\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z}$-cohomology called Steenrod squaring: $Sq^i:H^k(X,\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z}) \to H^{k+i}(X,\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z})$. (Coefficient group suppressed from ...
- 6,069
3
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Can every real function be approximated with a Riemann-integrable one with any precision required?
Is there some proof that Riemann-integrable functions are dense in the space of all real functions?
In a sense that for every real function $f$ and number $\varepsilon>0$, there is Riemann-...
- 117
2
votes
0
answers
123
views
Homotopy type of a 3-manifold produced via Dehn surgery?
My apologizes if this is a fairly elementary question, I am still a novice when it comes to 3-manifold topology.
I am wondering the following: by Kirby calculus, we know that two links (say in $S^{3}$ ...
- 295
2
votes
1
answer
155
views
Variation of concept of a Lusin space
Citing from Wikipedia,
A Hausdorff topological space is a Lusin space if some stronger topology makes it into a Polish space.
Is there a (previously studied) analogous concept of a Hausdorff (...
- 651
3
votes
1
answer
157
views
Embedding of half open half closed $n$-set in $n$-space
Let $n\geq 2$. Set $\Sigma= \{x\in \mathbb{R}^n: 1\leq |x|<2\}$. Assume $h:\Sigma
\rightarrow \mathbb{R}^n$ is continuous and injective.
Question: Must $h$ also be an embedding?
Some thoughts:
$h|...
7
votes
1
answer
183
views
Is lambda calculus polymorphism a type of generalized monad?
Let $\mathbf{C}$ be a Cartesian closed category. Then simply typed lambda calculus in $\mathbf{C}$ in one type variable can be interpreted as a category $\mathbf{STLC}_{\mathbf C}$ where the objects ...
10
votes
1
answer
460
views
An incomplete characterisation of the Euclidean line?
We say that a metric space $(X, d)$ is a Banakh space if for every $\rho \in \mathbb{R}_{> 0}$ and every $x \in X$, there are
$a,b \in X$ such that $\{y \in X \, \vert \, d(x, y) = \rho\} = \{a, b\}...
- 7,893
1
vote
1
answer
119
views
Extremally disconnected rigid infinite Hausdorff compacta(?)
Question: does there exist an extremally disconnected infinite Hausdorff compact space $\ X\ $ such that the only homeomorphism
$\ h: X\to X\ $ is the identity homeomorphism
$\ h=\mathbb I_X:\ X\to X\...
- 4,786
0
votes
0
answers
161
views
Gluing faces of n-cube
Assuming $C_n$ be the $n$-cube, the intersection of $C_n$ with a supporting hyperplane $H(P, v)$ is called a face or more precisely a $d$-face if the dimension is $d$.
Let $f_0$ and $f_1$ be faces ...
- 53
6
votes
1
answer
393
views
Algebra generated by transformation matrices
Let $T_n$ be the full transformation monoid of an $n$-set $N_n$ with elements 1,...,n consisting of all functions $f: N_n \rightarrow N_n$.
We can associate to each function $f$ a matrix $M_f$ in the ...
- 26.5k
2
votes
0
answers
103
views
Unordered configuration space with non-distinct points
Consider a topological space $X$, a natural number $n>0$ and
the quotient topological space $Q_n(X)$ of $X^n$ by the equivalence relation : $x\sim y$ if and only if
there is a permutation $\sigma$ ...
- 1,035
6
votes
0
answers
182
views
Conditions for metrisability
If a normal, first countable space is the union of countably many open metrisable subspaces, must that space be metrisable?
Partial answers, which I proved in the 1980's, include:
(0) The answer is ...
- 69
5
votes
0
answers
131
views
Is the opposite of the category of $\kappa$-Lindelöf Hausdorff spaces locally presentable?
Gelfand duality tells us that the category of compact Hausdorff spaces (with continuous maps as morphisms) is contravariantly equivalent to the category of commutative, unital $C^\ast$-algebras (with $...
- 64k
5
votes
2
answers
202
views
Polish space isometric to its hyperspace
For a Polish space $(X,d)$ its hyperspace $(K(X),d_H)$ is also a Polish space. (Here $K(X)$ denotes the set of all nonempty compact subsets of $X$, and the Hausdorff metric $d_H$ is defined by $d_H(K,...
- 157
2
votes
0
answers
92
views
Explicit CW-complex replacement of the space of reparametrization maps
Let $P$ be the space of nondecreasing surjective maps from $[0,1]$ to itself equipped with the compact-open topology: $P$ is contractible. There exists a trivial fibration $P^{cof} \to P$ from a CW-...
- 3,901
21
votes
7
answers
1k
views
Reference for topological graph theory (research / problem-oriented)
I would be interested in recommendations for topological graph theory texts. I think Gross and Yellen has a great chapter on topological graph theory, and I find Mohar and Thomassen's Graphs on ...
12
votes
1
answer
635
views
Ultrafilter subtraction and "zero"
This is related to a couple recent MO/MSE questions of mine, namely 1,2. Belatedly, I've tweaked this post to remove an overly-ambitious secondary question; see the edit history if interested.
Let $\...
- 20.5k
107
votes
9
answers
36k
views
solving $f(f(x))=g(x)$
This question is of course inspired by the question How to solve f(f(x))=cosx
and Joel David Hamkins' answer, which somehow gives a formal trick for solving equations of the form $f(f(x))=g(x)$ on a ...
- 41.4k
6
votes
2
answers
830
views
Do all homogeneous spaces have homogeneous compactifications?
Let $X$ be a separable metric space which is homogeneous, i.e. for every two points $x,y\in X$ there is a homeomorphism $h$ of $X$ onto itself such that $h(x)=y$.
A compactification of $X$ is a ...
- 3,317
3
votes
1
answer
228
views
Computing the Heyting operation on the frame of nuclei
(The following definitions are meant to be standard and are reproduced for completeness of the question.) A frame is a partially ordered set in which every finite subset has a greatest lower bound (“...
- 32.5k
19
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Is there a Cantor set $C$ in $\mathbb{R}^{2}$ so the graph of every continuous function $[0,1]\rightarrow [0,1]$ intersects $C$?
Consider the Cantor ternary set on the real line with the usual topology and define a Cantor set to be any topological space $C$ homeomorphic to the Cantor ternary set.
The idea is to construct a ...
- 2,136
1
vote
1
answer
732
views
Notations for open and closed sets
I am wondering why a standard notation for open sets is $G$ and that for closed sets is $F$. I mean, $F$ precedes $G$ in the alphabet, whereas open sets are usually introduced before closed ones.
- 128k
105
votes
5
answers
16k
views
Independent evidence for the classification of topological 4-manifolds?
Is there any evidence for the classification of topological 4-manifolds, aside from Freedman's 1982 paper "The topology of four-dimensional manifolds", Journal of Differential Geometry 17(3) 357–453? ...
- 2,337
4
votes
1
answer
169
views
Stone–Čech compactification and an ultrafilter of regular closed sets
$\DeclareMathOperator\cl{cl}\DeclareMathOperator\int{int}$A subset $A$ of a topological space $X$ is called regular closed if $A=\cl
_{X}\int_{X}A$.
The family of all regular closed sets of a ...
- 1,367
7
votes
3
answers
356
views
Hausdorff quasi-Polish spaces
A topological space is said to be quasi-Polish if it is second-countable and completely quasi-metrizable (see for an introduction de Brecht's article: de Brecht, Matthew, Quasi-Polish spaces, Ann. ...
- 2,286
7
votes
1
answer
262
views
Can you remove a zero dimensional subspace from a cube and obtain a planar space?
The question, which came up in a conversation with my advisor Ola Kwiatkowska, is pretty much in the title:
Let $Z\subseteq[0,1]^3$ be zero-dimensional. Is it possible for $[0,1]^3\setminus Z$ to be ...
- 3,011