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Questions tagged [gn.general-topology]

Continuum theory, point-set topology, spaces with algebraic structure, foundations, dimension theory, local and global properties.

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30 votes
4 answers
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is f a polynomial provided that it is "partially" smooth?

Let $f$ be a $C^\infty$ function on $(c,d)$ ,and let $O=\cup_{n\in \mathbb{Z}^+} (a_n,b_n)$ where $(a_n,b_n)$ are disjoint open interval in $(c,d)$ and $O$ is dense in $(c,d)$. Suppose for each $n\in ...
Ben's user avatar
  • 407
22 votes
6 answers
5k views

Topological characterization of the closed interval $[0,1]$

This question is related to question 92206 "What properties make $[0, 1]$ a good candidate for defining fundamental groups?" but is not exactly equivalent in my opinion. It is even suggested in one ...
21 votes
1 answer
1k views

Which complete Boolean algebras arise as the algebras of projections of commutative von Neumann algebras?

Projections in an arbitrary commutative von Neumann algebra form a complete Boolean algebra. Moreover, a morphism of commutative von Neumann algebras induces a continuous morphism of the corresponding ...
Dmitri Pavlov's user avatar
19 votes
2 answers
803 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 (...
Emily's user avatar
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18 votes
3 answers
2k views

Does Riemann map depend continuously on the domain?

I've always taken this for granted until recently: In the simplest case, given Jordan curve $C \subseteq \mathbb{C}$ containing a neighborhood of $\bar{0}$ in its interior. Given parametrizations $\...
Conan Wu's user avatar
  • 375
16 votes
12 answers
5k views

Examples of $G_\delta$ sets

Recall that a subset $A$ of a metric space $X$ is a $G_\delta$ subset if it can be written as a countable intersection of open sets. This notion is related to the Baire category theorem. Here are ...
coudy's user avatar
  • 18.7k
16 votes
2 answers
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Is Stone-Čech compactification of 0-dimensional space also 0-dimensional?

What is an example of a 0-dimensional locally compact Hausdorff space $X$ for which the Stone-Čech compactification $\beta(X)$ is not 0-dimensional? It is known that if $X$ is a 0-dimensional locally ...
Fred Dashiell's user avatar
15 votes
3 answers
717 views

Does every set $X$ have a topology for which the only continuous self-surjection is the identity map?

This question is a special case of Dominic van der Zypen's question Reconstructing relations with the image relation of a topology, as discussed in the comments, particularly the comment of Eric ...
Joel David Hamkins's user avatar
14 votes
2 answers
1k views

Hausdorff spaces with trivial automorphism group

Is the singleton space the only Hausdorff space $X$ such that the set of automorphisms $\varphi: X\to X$ equals $\{\textrm{id}_X\}$?
Dominic van der Zypen's user avatar
13 votes
4 answers
1k views

nonhausdorff dimension

if $X$ is a topological space, a first step in making $X$ hausdorff is taking the quotient $H(X)=X/\sim$, where $\sim$ is the equivalence relation generated by: if $x,y$ cannot be seperated by ...
Martin Brandenburg's user avatar
13 votes
3 answers
1k views

Map from simplex to itself that preserves sub-simplices

I believe this may be a standard algebraic topology problem, so I apologize in advance if this belongs in stackexchange (it's not a homework problem, however, and came about in a research context). I'...
Jennifer Gao's user avatar
12 votes
4 answers
1k views

What was Burroni's sketch for topological spaces?

In a 1981 talk, René Guitart cites Albert Burroni as having given "A first interesting example of a mixed sketch...for the category of topological spaces" in 1970. This was apparently done in Burroni'...
Kevin Carlson's user avatar
12 votes
3 answers
2k views

Minimal Hausdorff

A Hausdorff space $(X,\tau)$ is said to be minimal Hausdorff if for each topology $\tau' \subseteq \tau$ with $\tau' \neq \tau$ the space $(X,\tau')$ is not Hausdorff. Every compact Hausdorff space ...
Dominic van der Zypen's user avatar
11 votes
1 answer
769 views

Is there a suitably generalized Baire property for topological spaces of arbitrary cardinalities?

Is there some suitable generalization to the notion of Baire property for topological spaces of arbitrary cardinalities which satisfies the following condition: The meager sets are sets which are ...
user38200's user avatar
  • 1,416
9 votes
4 answers
1k views

When $X \times Y \cong X \times Z$ implies $Y \cong Z$ (in the category of finite topological spaces)

The title has it all. I'm looking for a reference to the following: Q. Let $X, Y, Z$ be finite, non-empty (topological) spaces. When does $X \times Y \cong X \times Z$ imply $Y \cong Z$ (in the ...
Salvo Tringali's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
438 views

Coarsest admissible topology on $\text{Cont}(X,Y)$

Let $X, Y$ be topological spaces and let $\text{Cont}(X,Y)$ be the collection of continuous functions $f:X\to Y$. We say that a topology $\tau$ on $\text{Cont}(X,Y)$ is admissible if the evaluation ...
Dominic van der Zypen's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
2k views

von neumann algebras and measurable spaces

I've read some pages on links between von neumann (VN) algebras and measurable spaces (Spectra of $C^*$ algebras and Non-commutative geometry from von Neumann algebras?), but I can't get the following:...
Issam Ibnouhsein's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
474 views

A criterion for second countability

Let $(X,\tau)$ be a topological space. Assume for any arbitrary topological base $\mathcal{E}$ of $\tau$ we have that: the Borel sigma algebras coming form $\mathcal{E}$ and $\tau$ are the same. ...
ABB's user avatar
  • 4,058
8 votes
4 answers
714 views

Are there $2^{\aleph_0}$ pairwise non-isomorphic Boolean algebra structures on $\omega$?

Is there a collection of $2^{\aleph_0}$ pairwise non-isomorphic countable Boolean algebras? Equivalently, are there $2^{\aleph_0}$ pairwise non-homeomorphic closed subsets in the Cantor space?
Dominic van der Zypen's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
355 views

Dense and co-dense subsets in connected $T_2$-spaces

Is there a connected $T_2$-space $(X,\tau)$ with more than 1 point and with the following property? Whenever $D\subseteq X$ is dense, $X\setminus D$ is not dense.
Dominic van der Zypen's user avatar
6 votes
3 answers
2k views

Uniquely geodesic and CAT(0) spaces?

Improvement after J-M Schlenker's comment below : This post has been divided into two parts, the second part is here. Question : Is a finite dimensional metric space, uniquely geodesic if and only ...
Sebastien Palcoux's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
1k views

Is the space of signed finite measures on a compact set $M([0,1])$ a sequential space?

Let $M([0,1])$ be the set of finite signed measures on $[0,1]$ (with the topology generated by the sets $\left\{ \mu \in M([0,1]) : \left| \int f(x) \mu(dx)- a\right| \leq \delta\right\}$ for all $\...
Ori's user avatar
  • 95
5 votes
2 answers
1k views

How to define compatible topology for first-order structures?

Background Because a bounded distributive lattice can be represented by the clopen sets of a Priestley space, I tried to learn some basics about Priestley spaces. After reading (on Wikipedia) A ...
Thomas Klimpel's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
657 views

Admissible and proper topologies on $C(X,Y)$

Given non-empty sets $A, B, C$, set $B^A$ to be the set of all functions $f:A\to B$ there is a natural bijection $\Lambda: C^{A\times B} \to (C^A)^B$ defined in the following way: for $f:A\times B \to ...
Dominic van der Zypen's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
229 views

Do $G_\delta$-measurable maps preserve dimension?

This question (in a bit different form) I leaned from Olena Karlova. Question. Let $f:X\to Y$ be a bijective continuous map between metrizable separable spaces such that for every open set $U\subset ...
Taras Banakh's user avatar
  • 41.8k
3 votes
1 answer
318 views

Properties of the interval topology of the lattice of functions

Let $(P,\leq)$ be a poset. The interval topology $\tau_i(P)$ on $P$ is generated by $$\{P\setminus\downarrow x : x\in P\} \cup \{P\setminus\uparrow x : x\in P\},$$ where $\downarrow x = \{y\in P: y\...
Dominic van der Zypen's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
156 views

Continuous self-maps in the Golomb space that are neither increasing nor decreasing

Let $\mathbb{N}$ denote the set of the positive integers. The Golomb space is a space ${\bf G} =(\mathbb{N},\tau)$ where a basis of $\tau$ is generated by $$\big\{\{a+bn: n\in \mathbb{N}\cup\{0\}\}: a,...
Dominic van der Zypen's user avatar
155 votes
4 answers
18k views

Does there exist a bijection of $\mathbb{R}^n$ to itself such that the forward map is connected but the inverse is not?

Let $(X,\tau), (Y,\sigma)$ be two topological spaces. We say that a map $f: \mathcal{P}(X)\to \mathcal{P}(Y)$ between their power sets is connected if for every $S\subset X$ connected, $f(S)\subset Y$ ...
Willie Wong's user avatar
75 votes
3 answers
11k views

Cohomology and fundamental classes

Let X be a real orientable compact differentiable manifold. Is the (co)homology of X generated by the fundamental classes of oriented subvarieties? And if not, what is known about the subgroup ...
Andrea Ferretti's user avatar
70 votes
28 answers
7k views

Examples where it's useful to know that a mathematical object belongs to some family of objects

For an expository piece I'm writing, it would be useful to have good examples of the following phenomenon: (1) ${\cal X}$ is a parameterized family of somethings. (Varieties, schemes, manifolds, ...
68 votes
2 answers
2k views

Continuous maps which send intervals of $\mathbb{R}$ to convex subsets of $\mathbb{R}^2$

Let $f : \mathbb{R} \longrightarrow \mathbb{R}^2$ be a continuous map which sends any interval $I \subseteq \mathbb{R}$ to a convex subset $f(I)$ of $\mathbb{R}^2$. Is it true that there must be a ...
Abcd's user avatar
  • 629
66 votes
4 answers
6k views

Is $\mathbb{R}^3 \setminus \mathbb{Q}^3$ simply connected?

Similarly is the complement of any countable set in $\mathbb R^3$ simply connected? Reading around I found plenty of articles discussing the path connectedness $\mathbb R^2 \setminus \mathbb Q^2$ and ...
Nick R's user avatar
  • 1,187
60 votes
7 answers
17k views

Is there a measure zero set which isn't meagre?

A subset of ℝ is meagre if it is a countable union of nowhere dense subsets (a set is nowhere dense if every open interval contains an open subinterval that misses the set). Any countable set ...
Anton Geraschenko's user avatar
58 votes
8 answers
9k views

Is there a Whitney Embedding Theorem for non-smooth manifolds?

For smooth $n$-manifolds, we know that they can always be embedded in $\mathbb R^{2n}$ via a differentiable map. However, is there any corresponding theorem for the topological category? (i.e. Can ...
Jake's user avatar
  • 825
53 votes
3 answers
8k views

Grothendieck's manuscript on topology

Edit: Infos on the current state by Lieven Le Bruyn: http://www.neverendingbooks.org/grothendiecks-gribouillis Edit: Just in case anyone still thinks that Grothendieck's unpublished manuscripts are (...
48 votes
19 answers
17k views

What is your favorite proof of Tychonoff's Theorem?

Here is mine. It's taken from page 11 of "An Introduction To Abstract Harmonic Analysis", 1953, by Loomis: https://archive.org/details/introductiontoab031610mbp https://ia800309.us.archive....
40 votes
3 answers
3k views

A map of non-pathological topology?

I think of topological spaces as coming in several "islands of interestingness" (the CW island, the Zariski archipelago,...) dotting a vast "pathological sea" (the long line ocean, the gulf of the ...
Tim Campion's user avatar
  • 63.9k
37 votes
5 answers
7k views

Example of sequences with different limits for two norms

I was explaining to my students that if there is an inequality between two norms, then there is an inclusion between their spaces of convergent sequences, with matching limits. I then proceeded to ...
Julien Puydt's user avatar
  • 2,054
35 votes
2 answers
5k views

Why should have Peter May worked with CGWH instead of CGH in "The Geometry of Iterated Loop Space"?

This is a follow-up to Dan Ramras' answer of this question. The following correction can be found in the errata to The Geometry of Iterated Loop space (Page 484 here). The weak Hausdorff rather ...
archipelago's user avatar
  • 2,974
34 votes
4 answers
3k views

In what rigorous sense are Sperner's Lemma and the Brouwer Fixed Point Theorem equivalent?

I understand that one can give a proof of each of these propositions assuming the truth of the other. But this seems a bit squishy to me, since there is a trivial sense in which any two true theorems ...
James Propp's user avatar
  • 19.7k
33 votes
4 answers
2k views

Can a connected planar compactum minus a point be totally disconnected?

What the title said. In a slightly more leisurely fashion:- Let $X$ be a compact, connected subset of $\mathbb{R}^2$ with more than one point, and let $x\in X$. Can $X\smallsetminus\{x\}$ be ...
HJRW's user avatar
  • 25k
33 votes
6 answers
2k views

Is there a topology on growth rates of functions?

I've often idly wondered one can say about the collection of "growth rates". By growth rate, let's say we mean an equivalence class of functions $(0,\infty) \to (0,\infty)$, where two ...
Mike Hall's user avatar
  • 793
33 votes
1 answer
2k views

Is it still an open problem whether $\mathbb{R}^\omega$ is normal in the box topology?

On page 205 of his Topology textbook, James Munkres made an interesting remark: It is not known whether $\mathbb{R}^\omega$ is normal in the box topology. Mary-Ellen Rudin has shown that the answer ...
Keshav Srinivasan's user avatar
33 votes
6 answers
13k views

Is a topology determined by its convergent sequences?

Just a basic point-set topology question: clearly we can detect differences in topologies using convergent sequences, but is there an example of two distinct topologies on the same set which have the ...
Tony's user avatar
  • 543
32 votes
1 answer
2k views

Homeomorphisms and disjoint unions

Let $X$ and $Y$ be compact subsets of $\mathbb{R}^n$. Assume that $X \sqcup X \cong Y \sqcup Y$ (here $X \sqcup X$ is the disjoint union of two copies of $X$, considered as a topological space, and ...
Sam's user avatar
  • 556
31 votes
6 answers
6k views

Least number of charts to describe a given manifold

Hello, I'm wondering if there is a standard reference discussing the least number of charts in an atlas of a given manifold required to describe it. E.g. a circle requires at least two charts, and ...
Thomas Sauvaget's user avatar
30 votes
5 answers
3k views

The ants-on-a-ball problem

Suppose I put an ant in a tiny racecar on every face of a soccer ball. Each ant then drives around the edges of her face counterclockwise. The goal is to prove that two of the ants will eventually ...
Anton Geraschenko's user avatar
30 votes
8 answers
3k views

Cryptomorphisms

I am curious to collect examples of equivalent axiomatizations of mathematical structures. The two examples that I have in mind are Topological Spaces. These can be defined in terms of open sets, ...
29 votes
1 answer
812 views

Running most of the time in a connected set

Let $P$ be a compact connected set in the plane and $x,y\in P$. Is it always possible to connect $x$ to $y$ by a path $\gamma$ such that the length of $\gamma\backslash P$ is arbitrary small? ...
Anton Petrunin's user avatar
28 votes
7 answers
13k views

Regular borel measures on metric spaces

When teaching Measure Theory last year, I convinced myself that a finite measure defined on the Borel subsets of a (compact; separable complete?) metric space was automatically regular. I used the ...
Matthew Daws's user avatar
  • 18.7k

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