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Topology Homework No. 7: Problem 30. R. R Fall Into Three Classes, Within

This document contains solutions to three topology homework problems: (1) Classifying intervals in R up to homeomorphisms into three classes: finite closed intervals, open intervals, and infinite closed/finite intervals that are neither open nor closed. (2) Showing that a set S forms a subbasis for the product topology on X × Y. (3) Proving a topological space X is Hausdorff if and only if the diagonal subset of X × X is closed.

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83 views3 pages

Topology Homework No. 7: Problem 30. R. R Fall Into Three Classes, Within

This document contains solutions to three topology homework problems: (1) Classifying intervals in R up to homeomorphisms into three classes: finite closed intervals, open intervals, and infinite closed/finite intervals that are neither open nor closed. (2) Showing that a set S forms a subbasis for the product topology on X × Y. (3) Proving a topological space X is Hausdorff if and only if the diagonal subset of X × X is closed.

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jireh-loreaux-5053
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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Topology Homework No.

Jireh Loreaux
11 October 2010

Problem 30. Classify, up to homeomorphisms, the non-empty in-


tervals (open, closed, neither, finite, or infinite) in R.
Claim. The non-empty intervals in R fall into three classes, within
which all members are homeomorphic to one another. These classes
are:
(a) Finite closed intervals.
(b) Open intervals (either finite or infinite).
(c) Infinite closed intervals and finite intervals which are neither
open nor closed.
Proof.
(a) Take any two finite closed intervals, [ a, b], [c, d] in R. Then de-
( x − a)·(d−c)
fine the map f : [ a, b] → [c, d] by f ( x ); = b− a + c. Since
this is just a linear map, it is obviously bijective, continuous,
and has a continuous inverse. Thus it is a homeomorphism.
To see that the finite closed intervals are not homeomorphic
to any of the other sets listed, notice that a finite closed in-
terval is a compact subset of R. Since continuous images of
compact sets are compact, any homeomorphism between the
finite closed intervals and any of the other intervals above
would make the other interval compact. However, in R,
compactness is equivalent to being closed and bounded, and
none of the other intervals have both of these properties.
(b) Consider for the moment only finite open intervals. Take two
arbitrary open intervals ( a, b), (c, d). We may use the same
map f as used in part (a), except restricting the domain. For
the same reasons as above, f is a homeomorphism between
these two intervals. Now consider (0, 1), and (0, ∞). These
are homeomorphic by means of the map g : (0, 1) → (0, ∞)
given by g( x ) := 1−x x . We see that g is continuous because

1
it is the quotient of continuous maps, the denominator of
which is never zero on (0, 1). g−1 is given by g−1 ( x ) = 1+x x ,
which is also continuous for the same reasons that g is con-
tinuous. Now, it is easy to see that (0, ∞) is homeomorphic
to (−∞, 0) via h( x ) = − x, and also that (0, ∞) is homeomor-
phic to ( a, ∞) via the map k ( x ) = x + a. All that remains to
be shown is that (−1, 1) is homeomorphic to R. This is done
via the map j( x ) := 1−|x x| . Now, this is continuous as the
quotient of continuous functions, the denominator of which
is never zero. Interestingly enough, j−1 = j, and so j is easily
a homeomorphism since it is injective. This completes this
class of intervals.
(c) The homeomorphism between arbitrary finite intervals [ a, b)
and [c, d) is the same map f as given in parts (a) and (b). We
have already discussed the bijectivity and continuity of f and
the continuity of its inverse. The same is true of the intervals
( a, b] and (c, d]. Notice that [0, 1) is homeomorphic to (−1, 0]
via the map h given in part (b). To show that [0, 1) is home-
omorphic to [0, ∞), we use the map g given in part (b). And
to show that [0, ∞) is homeomorphic to (−∞, 0] and [ a, ∞),
we use the maps h and k given in part (b). This completes the
desired homeomorphisms for this class of intervals.
Note: In the above discussion there is one missing piece. This
is the fact that the classes from (b) and (c) are distinct classes. We
were unable to show this fact, but we believe it to be true. 
Problem 32. Let ( X, T) and (Y, U ) be topological spaces. Show
that the collection
[
S := {U × Y | U ∈ T} {X × V | V ∈ U }
is a subbasis for the product topology on X × Y.
Proof. We will show that the set of finite intersections of elements
from S is precisely the basis B given in Problem 31 for the product
topology on X × Y. First notice that if S1 , . . . , Sn ∈ S are of the first
form, then for 1 ≤ j ≤ n, there exist Uj ∈ T such that S j = Uj × Y.
Then their intersection is also of the first form, that is,
S1 ∩ · · · ∩ Sn = (U1 × Y ) ∩ · · · ∩ (Un × Y ) = (U1 ∩ · · · ∩ Un ) × Y.
And since T is a topology on X, U1 ∩ · · · ∩ Un ∈ T . Therefore this
intersection is also an element of S of the first form. A symmet-
ric argument proves that finite intersections of elements of S of

2
the second form are themselves of the second form. This means
that any finite intersection of elements of S can be written as the
intersection of S1 ∈ S of the first form and S2 ∈ S of the second
form. Then there exist U ∈ T and V ∈ U such that S1 = U × Y
and S2 = X × V. Therefore we find that
S1 ∩ S2 = (U × Y ) ∩ ( X × V ) = (U ∩ X ) × (V ∩ Y ) = U × V,

which is an element of B , the basis for the product topology on


X × Y. Notice also that any element of B can be obtained in this
way by choosing appropriate U ∈ T and V ∈ U . Thus S is a
subbasis for the product topology on X × Y. 
Problem 35. Prove that a topological space X is a Hausdorff space
if and only if

∆ := {( x, x ) | x ∈ X } is a closed subset of X × X.
Proof. Suppose that X is a Hausdorff space. We will prove that
( X × X ) \ ∆ is an open set. So take any ( x0 , y0 ) ∈ X × X with
x0 6= y0 . Then, x0 , y0 ∈ X are distinct points, so we may take
open neighborhoods Ux , Uy ⊂ X of x0 , y0 respectively. Also, we
require that Ux ∩ Uy = ∅. Now then, Ux × Uy is open in X × X
and contains ( x0 , y0 ). Furthermore, (Ux × Uy ) ∩ ∆ = ∅ (otherwise
there would be some (z, z) ∈ UUx ∩ Uy , but this would imply that
z ∈ Ux and z ∈ Uy , violating the disjointness of these sets). Since
( x0 , y0 ) was arbitrary, we have proven that ( X × X ) \ ∆ is open
and therefore that ∆ is closed in X × X.
Now suppose that ∆ is closed in X × X. Then, its complement
is open by definition. Take any distinct x, y ∈ X. We will prove
that we can separate x and y with disjoint open sets. To do this,
notice that ( x, y) is in the complement of ∆ inside X × X. Since
this set is open by hypothesis, we know there exist open U, V ⊂ X
such that ( x, y) ∈ U × V ⊂ ( X × X ) \ ∆ (this is because sets of this
form are a basis for the product topology on X × X). Notice then
that x ∈ U and y ∈ V. Furthermore, U ∩ V = ∅ (otherwise there
would be some z ∈ U ∩ V and thus (z, z) ∈ U × V, which violates
the latter being a subset of the complement of ∆). Thus X is a
Hausdorff space. 

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