Function-space compactifications of function spaces

If X and Y are Hausdorff spaces with X locally compact, then the compact-open topology on the set C(X,Y) of continuous maps from X to Y is known to produce the right function-space topology. But it is also known to fail badly to be locally compact, even when Y is locally compact. We show that for any Tychonoff space Y, there is a densely injective space Z containing Y as a densely embedded subspace such that, for every locally compact space X, the set C(X,Z) has a compact Hausdorff topology whose relative topology on C(X,Y) is the compact-open topology. The following are derived as corollaries: (1) If X and Y are compact Hausdorff spaces then C(X,Y) under the compact-open topology is embedded into the Vietoris hyperspace V(X×Y). (2) The space of real-valued continuous functions on a locally compact Hausdorff space under the compact-open topology is embedded into a compact Hausdorff space whose points are pairs of extended real-valued functions, one lower and the other upper semicontinuous. The first application is generalized in two ways.     

Borel measures in consonant spaces

A topology on a set X is called consonant if the Scott topology of the lattice is compactly generated; equivalently, if the upper Kuratowski topology and the co-compact topology on closed sets of X coincide. It is proved that every completely regular consonant space is a Prohorov space, and that every first countable regular consonant space is hereditarily Baire. If X is metrizable separable and co-analytic, then X is consonant if and only if X is Polish. Finally, we prove that every pseudocompact topological group which is consonant is compact. Several problems of Dolecki, Greco and Lechicki, of Nogura and Shakmatov, are solved.     

Compact open topology and CW homotopy type

The class of spaces having the homotopy type of a CW complex is not closed under formation of function spaces. In 1959, Milnor proved the fundamental theorem that, given a space and a compact Hausdorff space X, the space Y^X of continuous functions X→Y, endowed with the compact open topology, belongs to . P.J. Kahn extended this in 1982, showing that if X has finite n-skeleton and π_k(Y)=0, k>n.

Using a different approach, we obtain a further generalization and give interesting examples of function spaces where is not homotopy equivalent to a finite complex, and has infinitely many nontrivial homotopy groups. We also obtain information about some topological properties that are intimately related to CW homotopy type.

As an application we solve a related problem concerning towers of fibrations between spaces of CW homotopy type.     

Factorization theorems for cohomological dimension

The well-known factorization theorems for covering dimension dim and compact Hausdorff spaces are here established for the cohomological dimension dim using a new characterization of dim In particular, it is proved that every mapping f: X → Y from a compact Hausdorff space X with to a compact metric space Y admits a factorization f = hg, where g: X → Z, h: Z → Y and Z is a metric compactum with . These results are applied to the well-known open problem whether . It is shown that the problem has a positive answer for compact Hausdorff spaces X if and only if it has a positive answer for metric compacta X.     

The Wijsman and Attouch-Wets topologies on hyperspaces revisited

In this paper we will prove that, for an arbitrary metric space X and a fairly arbitrary collection Σ of subsets of X, it is possible to endow the hyperspace CL(X) of all nonempty closed subsets of X (to be identified with their distance functionals) with a canonical distance function having the topology of uniform convergence on members of Σ as topological coreflection and the Hausdorff metric as metric coreflection. For particular choices of Σ, we obtain canonical distance functions overlying the Wijsman and Attouch-Wets topologies. Consequently we apply the general theory of spaces endowed with a distance function and compare the results with those obtained for the classical hyperspace topologies. In all cases we are able to prove results which are both stronger and more general than the classical ones.     

Coincidence of the upper Kuratowski topology with the co-compact topology on compact sets, and the Prohorov property

For a Hausdorff space X, let F be the hyperspace of all closed subsets of X and H a sublattice of F. Following Nogura and Shakhmatov, X is said to be H-trivial if the upper Kuratowski topology and the co-compact topology coincide on H. F-trivial spaces are the consonant spaces first introduced and studied by Dolecki, Greco and Lechicki. In this paper, we deal with K-trivial spaces and Fin-trivial space, where K and Fin are respectively the lattices of compact and of finite subsets of X. It is proved that if C_k(X) is a Baire space or more generally if X has ‘the moving off property’ of Gruenhage and Ma, then X is K-trivial. If X is countable, then C_p(X) is Baire if and only if X is Fin-trivial and all compact subsets of X are finite. As for consonant spaces, it turns out that every regular K-trivial space is a Prohorov space. This result remains true for any regular Fin-trivial space in which all compact subsets are scattered. It follows that every regular first countable space without isolated points, all compact subsets of which are countable, is Fin-nontrivial. Examples of K-trivial non-consonant spaces, of Fin-trivial K-nontrivial spaces and of countably compact Prohorov Fin-nontrivial spaces, are given. In particular, we show that all (generalized) Fréchet–Urysohn fans are K-trivial, answering a question by Nogura and Shakhmatov. Finally, we describe an example of a continuous open compact-covering mapping f :X→Y, where X is Prohorov and Y is not Prohorov, answering a long-standing question by Topsøe.     

An equilibrium version of set-valued Ekeland variational principle and its applications to set-valued vector equilibrium problems

By using Gerstewitz functions, we establish a new equilibrium version of Ekeland variational principle, which improves the related results by weakening both the lower boundedness and the lower semi-continuity of the ob jective bimaps. Applying the new version of Ekeland principle, we obtain some existence theorems on solutions for set-valued vector equilibrium problems, where the most used assumption on compactness of domains is weakened. In the setting of complete metric spaces(Z,d), we present an existence result of solutions for set-valued vector equilibrium problems, which only requires that the domain XZ is countably compact in any Hausdorff topology weaker than that induced by d. When(Z, d) is a Féchet space(i.e., a complete metrizable locally convex space), our existence result only requires that the domain XZ is weakly compact. Furthermore, in the setting of non-compact domains, we deduce several existence theorems on solutions for set-valued vector equilibrium problems,which extend and improve the related known results.     

Some algebraic constructions in rational homotopy theory

In this note we describe constructions in the category of differential graded commutative algebras over the rational numbers Q which are analogs of the space F(X, Y) of continuous maps of X to Y, the component F(X, Y,ƒ) containing ƒ ε F(X, Y), fibrations, induced fibrations, the space Γ(π) of sections of a fibration π: E → X, and the component Γ(π,σ) containing σ ε Γ (π). As a focus, we address the problem of expressing π^*(F(X, Y, ƒ)) = Hom(π_*(F(X,Y, ƒ)),Q) in terms of differential graded algebra models for X and Y.     

Weakened Lie groups and their locally isometric completions

Weakened Lie groups are Lie groups with a Hausdorff topology that is weaker than the Lie topology. We show that a large class of weakened Lie groups are locally isometric. If the weakened groups are not complete (and they usually are not), then the same property holds for their completions. This is a surprising result since, on a global scale, the weakened groups may exhibit many “unusual” and distinct characteristics. Other results include a constructive procedure for obtaining metrizable, weakened Lie groups and examples of metrizable topological groups with unusual properties.     

Instabilities of robot motion

Instabilities of robot motion are caused by topological reasons. In this paper we find a relation between the topological properties of a configuration space (the structure of its cohomology algebra) and the character of instabilities, which are unavoidable in any motion planning algorithm. More specifically, let X denote the space of all admissible configurations of a mechanical system. A motion planner is given by a splitting X×X=F₁F₂F_k (where F₁,…,F_k are pairwise disjoint ENRs, see below) and by continuous maps s_j :F_j→PX, such that Es_j=1_Fj. Here PX denotes the space of all continuous paths in X (admissible motions of the system) and E :PX→X×X denotes the map which assigns to a path the pair of its initial–end points. Any motion planner determines an algorithm of motion planning for the system. In this paper we apply methods of algebraic topology to study the minimal number of sets F_j in any motion planner in X. We also introduce a new notion of order of instability of a motion planner; it describes the number of essentially distinct motions which may occur as a result of small perturbations of the input data. We find the minimal order of instability, which may have motion planners on a given configuration space X. We study a number of specific problems: motion of a rigid body in R³, a robot arm, motion in R³ in the presence of obstacles, and others.     

On analytic and coanalytic function spaces Cp(X)

Under the assumption (V = L) we construct countable completely regular spaces X and Y such that the spaces C_p(X) and C_p(Y) of real-valued continuous functions on X and Y, equipped with the pointwise convergence topology, are analytic noncoanalytic and they are not homeomorphic. We also give analogous examples of coanalytic nonanalytic function spaces.     

A question related to the Isbell problem

Given two compatible metrics on a metrizable space X. It is well known that they give rise to the same Hausdorff hypertopologies and upper Hausdorff hypertopologies, on the collection of all closed subsets of X, if and only if they are uniformly equivalent. This is no longer true for the lower Hausdorff hypertopology; indeed a weaker condition is needed, and this condition has been found by Costantini and Vitolo.     

Topological collapsings and cylindrical neighborhoods in 3-manifolds

We introduce the concept of topological collapsing as a topological abstraction of polyhedral ones. Then we use this concept to characterize the cylindrical neighborhoods of a closed X in a locally compact separable metric space M such that M - X is a 3-manifold. We also prove the following criterion of existence: X has cylindrical neighborhoods in M iff there is a neighborhood N of X in M which is topologically collapsible onto X respecting Bd(M - X).     

Marked length rigidity of rank one symmetric spaces and their product

In this paper we show that if two Zariski dense representations, from a group G into Iso(X) where X is rank one symmetric space, have the proportional marked length spectrum, then they are conjugate. As a generalization we show that a Zariski dense representation into the isometry group of the product of rank one symmetric spaces is determined by the marked cross ratio.     

Topological vector spaces, compacta, and unions of subspaces

In the first two sections, we study when a σ-compact space can be covered by a point-finite family of compacta. The main result in this direction concerns topological vector spaces. Theorem 2.4 implies that if such a space L admits a countable point-finite cover by compacta, then L has a countable network. It follows that if f is a continuous mapping of a σ-compact locally compact space X onto a topological vector space L, and fibers of f are compact, then L is a σ-compact space with a countable network (Theorem 2.10). Therefore, certain σ-compact topological vector spaces do not have a stronger σ-compact locally compact topology.In the last, third section, we establish a result going in the orthogonal direction: if a compact Hausdorff space X is the union of two subspaces which are homeomorphic to topological vector spaces, then X is metrizable (Corollary 3.2).     

Linear preservers of matrices of rank-2

Let T be a linear operator on the space of all m×n matrices over any field. we prove that if T maps rank-2 matrices to rank-2 matrices then there exist nonsingular matrices U and V such that either T(X)=UXV for all matrices X, or m=n and T(X)=UX^tV for all matrices X where X^t denotes the transpose of X.     

Spectral analysis and the Riemann hypothesis

The explicit formulas of Riemann and Guinand-Weil relate the set of prime numbers with the set of nontrivial zeros of the zeta function of Riemann. We recall Alain Connes’ spectral interpretation of the critical zeros of the Riemann zeta function as eigenvalues of the absorption spectrum of an unbounded operator in a suitable Hilbert space. We then give a spectral interpretation of the zeros of the Dedekind zeta function of an algebraic number field K of degree n in an automorphic setting.

If K is a complex quadratic field, the torical forms are the functions defined on the modular surface X, such that the sum of this function over the “Gauss set” of K is zero, and Eisenstein series provide such torical forms.

In the case of a general number field, one can associate to K a maximal torus T of the general linear group G. The torical forms are the functions defined on the modular variety X associated to G, such that the integral over the subvariety induced by T is zero. Alternately, the torical forms are the functions which are orthogonal to orbital series on X.

We show here that the Riemann hypothesis is equivalent to certain conditions bearing on spaces of torical forms, constructed from Eisenstein series, the torical wave packets. Furthermore, we define a Hilbert space and a self-adjoint operator on this space, whose spectrum equals the set of critical zeros of the Dedekind zeta function of K.     

On an equivalence of topological vector space valued cone metric spaces and metric spaces

Scalarization method is an important tool in the study of vector optimization as corresponding solutions of vector optimization problems can be found by solving scalar optimization problems. Recently this has been applied by Du (2010) [14] to investigate the equivalence of vectorial versions of fixed point theorems of contractive mappings in generalized cone metric spaces and scalar versions of fixed point theorems in general metric spaces in usual sense. In this paper, we find out that the topology induced by topological vector space valued cone metric coincides with the topology induced by the metric obtained via a nonlinear scalarization function, i.e any topological vector space valued cone metric space is metrizable, prove a completion theorem, and also obtain some more results in topological vector space valued cone normed spaces.     

A Helly theorem in weakly modular space

The d-convex sets in a metric space are those subsets which include the metric interval between any two of its elements. Weak modularity is a certain interval property for triples of points. The d-convexity of a discrete weakly modular space X coincides with the geodesic convexity of the graph formed by the two-point intervals in X. The Helly number of such a space X turns out to be the same as the clique number of the associated graph. This result thus entails a Helly theorem for quasi-median graphs, pseudo-modular graphs, and bridged graphs.     

Serre''s contribution to the development of algebraic topology

We describe in detail Serre's application of spectral sequence theory to the study of the relations between the homology of total space, base space and fibre in a Serre fibration; and we apply the results to establish that a 1-connected space X has homology groups (in positive dimension) in a Serre class C if and only if its homotopy groups are in C.

We include in this paper some personal reflections on the contact the author had with Serre during the decade of the 1950's when Serre's revolutionary work in homotopy theory was completely changing the face of algebraic topology.