Closed sets, Limit Points, Convergence

August 24, 2023

1 Closed sets and Closure of a set

Before starting this chapter, let us understand the meaning of some specific phrases.
• U is a neighbourhood (nbd) of x: U is an open set containing x.

• A intersects B: A ∩ B ̸= ϕ.

• A does not intersect B: A ∩ B = ϕ.

Definition 1.1. Let X be a topological space. A subset C of X is called closed if its

complement X \ C is open in X.
Properties:
(i) ϕ and X are closed.

(ii) If Cα be a collection of closed sets in X then ∩α Cα is closed.

(iii) If C1 , C2 , · · · Cn are closed then so is ∪ni=1 Ci .

Exercise: Use the definition and DeMorgan’s law to proof the above properties.
Exercise: Show that { n1 : n ∈ N} ∪ {0} is closed.
Exercise: Show that {x ∈ R : x ≥ 0} is closed.
Exercise: Let (X, d) be a metric space. Fix x0 ∈ X and r > 0. Show that {y ∈ X :
d(x0 , y) ≤ r} is closed in X.

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Definition 1.2. Let X be a topological space. The closure of a set A is defined as the
intersection of all the closed set containing A. We denote it by A.

Properties:

(i) The closure A of a set A is always closed.

(ii) A is the smallest closed set containing A.

(iii) A ⊂ A.

(iv) If C is a closed set and A ⊂ C then A ⊂ C.

Definition 1.3. Let X be a topological space. The interior of a set A is defined as the
union of all the open set contained in A. We denote it by A◦ .

Properties:

(i) The interior A◦ of a set A is always open.

(ii) A◦ is the largest open set contained in A.

(iii) A◦ ⊂ A.

(iv) If U is a open set and U ⊂ A then U ⊂ A◦ .

Theorem 1.4. Let X be a topological space and A ⊂ X. Then x ∈ A if and only if

every open set U containing x intersects A, that is, A ∩ U ̸= ϕ.

Proof : It suffices to show that

x∈/ A if and only if there exists an open set U containing x which does not intersect A,
that is, A ∩ U = ϕ.
(proof of ⇒): Let x ∈ / A. Then X \ A is an open set containing x and it does not
intersect A.
(proof of ⇐): Suppose U is an open set containing x and U ∩ A = ϕ. Then X \ U is a
closed set containing A. Therefore A ⊂ X \ U . This show that x ∈ / A. □

Theorem 1.5. Let (X, T ) be a topological space and B be a basis for T . Let A ⊂ X.
Then x ∈ A if and only if every basis element B containing x intersects A, that is,
A ∩ B ̸= ϕ.

Proof : Do it by yourself using the previous theorem. □

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Example 1.6. (i) Consider the standard topology on R. Take A = Q. Fix an arbi-
trary point x ∈ R. Since every open interval (a, b) containg x contains a rational,
it follows that x ∈ Q. Hence Q = R.

(ii) Consider the standard topology on R. Take A = { n1 : n ∈ N}. Any open interval
containg 0 intersects A. Hence 0 ∈ A. This shows that A = { n1 : n ∈ N} ∪ {0}.

Theorem 1.7. Let Y be a subspace of X. Then a subset A ⊂ Y is closed in Y if and

only if
A = C ∩ Y,
for some closed set C in X.

Proof : Suppose A = C ∩ Y , for some closed set C in X. One can verify that

Y \ A = (X \ C) ∩ Y.

Since X \ C is open in X, it follows that Y \ A is open in Y , and hence A is closed in Y .

Now assume A is closed in Y . Then Y \ A is open in Y . Therefore one gets an open

set U in X such that
Y \ A = U ∩ Y.
This implies that
A = (X \ U ) ∩ Y.
□
X Y
Exercise: Let Y be a subspace of X, and A ⊂ Y . Denote by A and A the closure of
A in X and Y , respectively. Show that
Y X
A = A ∩ Y.

Definition 1.8. Let X be a space and A ⊂ X.

1. (Interior point:) A point x ∈ A is called an interior point of A if there exists an

open set U such that
x ∈ U ⊂ A,
that is, there exists an open set containing x and lying in A.

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 2. (Boundary point:) A point x ∈ X is called a boundary point of A if for every
open set U containing x, one has

U ∩ A ̸= ϕ and U ∩ (X \ A) ̸= ϕ,

that is, each open set containing x contains points of both, A and its complement.
The set of all boundary points of A is denoted by Bd (A).

Example 1.9. (i) Consider R with standard topology. Take A = [0, 1). Then 0 is a
boundary point of A. If x ∈ (0, 1), then it is an interior point of A.

(ii) Consider R with lower limit topology. Take A = [0, 1). Then each point of A is an
interior point.

Theorem 1.10. Let X be a space and A ⊂ X. Then

A◦ = {x ∈ A : x is an interior point of A}.

Proof : Take x ∈ A◦ . Then x ∈ A◦ ⊂ A. Since A◦ is an open set contained in A, it

follows that x is an interior point.
Now take y to be an interior point of A. Then there exists U such that

y ∈ U ⊂ A =⇒ y ∈ U ⊂ A◦ .

This proves the claim. □

Exercise: Show that
Bd (A) = A ∩ (X \ A).

2 Limit Points
Definition 2.1. Let X be a topological space and A ⊂ X. A point x ∈ X is said to be
a limit point of A if every open set containing x intersects A \ {x}. The set of all limit
points of A is denoted by A′ .

Remark 2.2. A limit point of A may or may not lie in A.

Theorem 2.3. Let X be a topological space and A ⊂ X. Then

A = A ∪ A′ .

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Proof : Clearly, A ⊂ A. Take x ∈ A. For any open set U containing x, one has

U ∩ (A \ {x}) ̸= ϕ.

This shows that U ∩ A ̸= ϕ, hence x ∈ A.

To show the other direction, take y ∈ A. For any open set U containing y, one has

U ∩ A ̸= ϕ =⇒ either U ∩ (A \ {y}) ̸= ϕ or y ∈ A.

This shows that y ∈ A′ ∪ A. □

Corollary 2.4. A subset A of a topological space X is closed if it contains all of its limit
points, that is, A′ ⊂ A.

3 Convergence of a sequence
Definition 3.1. Let (X, T ) be a topological space. Let {xn } be a sequence in X, and
let x ∈ X. We say that xn converges to x as n → ∞ if for each open set U in X, there
exists N ∈ N such that
xn ∈ U, for n > N.
We denote it by
xn → x as n → ∞.
The point x is called a limit of {xn }. Such sequence is called a convergent sequence.

Example 3.2. (i) Consider R with indiscrete topology. Take a sequence {xn }. It is
easy to see that
xn → r as n → ∞
for any r ∈ R. Any sequence converges to all points of R!

(ii) Let T = {ϕ, {1}, {1, 2}, {1, 2, 3}} be a topology on X = {1, 2, 3}. Take

xn = 1, yn = 2, zn = 3, for all n ∈ N.

Then {xn } converge to 1, 2 and 3 (why?). The sequence {yn } converges to 2 and
3, but not 1 (why?). The sequence {zn } converges to 3 but not 1 and 2 (why?).

(iii) Consider R with standard topology T and the K-topology Tk . The sequence { n1 }
converges to 0 in the standard topology. However in Tk , it does not converge to any
point.

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Exercise: Let T ′ be finer than T . Show that if a sequence xn converges to x in T ′ then
it converges to x in T as well.
Exercise: Let R be equipped with the discrete topology. Determine all the convergent
sequences in this topological space.

Question: Can we find those topological spaces in which every convergent sequence
converges to a uniuqe point?

Definition 3.3. A topological space (X, T ) is called a Hausdorff space if for each pair
x1 and x2 of distinct points, there exist open sets U1 and U2 such that

x1 ∈ U1 , x2 ∈ U2 , and U1 ∩ U2 = ϕ.

Sometimes we say that the topology T satisfies the Hausdorff axiom (property) or X is
a T2 -space.

Example 3.4. (i) Put the standard topology on R. Then it is a Hausdorff space.

Exercise: Prove that a metric space is a Hausdorff space.

Exercise: Prove that anu subspace of a Huasdorff space is Hausdorff.
Exercise: Prove that the product of two Hausdorff spaces is Haurdorff.
Exercise: Let T ′ is finer than T . Prove that T satisfies the Hausdorff axiom, then so
does T ′ .

Theorem 3.5. Let (X, T ) be a Hausdorff space. Then any finite subset of X is closed.

Proof : Enough to show that {x} is closed for any x ∈ X. Take y ̸= x. Then by Hausdorff
property, there exists U such that

y ∈ U, x∈
/ U.

This shows that y ∈

/ {x}. Hence {x} = {x}. □

Theorem 3.6. Let X be a Hausdorff space. Then any sequence {xn } converges to at
most one point of X.

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Proof : Let xn → x as n → ∞. Take y ∈ X. By Hausdorff property, we get U1 and U2
open sets such that

x ∈ U1 , y ∈ U2 , and U1 ∩ U2 = ϕ.

Get N ∈ N such that

xn ∈ U 1 , if n > N.
Since U1 ∩ U2 = ϕ, it follows that

xn ∈
/ U2 for n > N.

Hence y is not a limit of {xn }. □