On open ultrafilters and maximal points

In this work we expand upon the theory of open ultrafilters in the setting of regular spaces. In [E. van Douwen, Remote points, Dissertationes Math. (Rozprawy Mat.) 188 (1981) 1-45], van Douwen showed that if X is a non-feebly compact Tychonoff space with a countable π-base, then βX has a remote point. We develop a related result for the class of regular spaces which shows that in a non-feebly compact regular space X with a countable π-base, there exists a free open ultrafilter on X that is also a regular filter.Of central importance is a result of Mooney [D.D. Mooney, H-bounded sets, Topology Proc. 18 (1993) 195-207] that characterizes open ultrafilters as open filters that are saturated and disjoint-prime. Smirnov [J.M. Smirnov, Some relations on the theory of dimensions, Mat. Sb. 29 (1951) 157-172] showed that maximal completely regular filters are disjoint prime, from which it was concluded that βX is a perfect extension for a Tychonoff space X. We extend this result, and other results of Skljarenko [E.G. Skljarenko, Some questions in the theory of bicompactifications, Amer. Math. Soc. Transl. Ser. 2 58 (1966) 216-266], by showing that a maximal regular filter on any Hausdorff space is disjoint prime.Open ultrafilters are integral to the study of maximal points and lower topologies in the partial order of Hausdorff topologies on a fixed set. We show that a maximal point in a Hausdorff space cannot have a neighborhood base of feebly compact neighborhoods. One corollary is that no locally countably compact Hausdorff topology is a lower topology, which was shown previously under the additional assumption of countable tightness by Alas and Wilson [O. Alas, R. Wilson, Which topologies can have immediate successors in the lattice of T₁-topologies? Appl. Gen. Topol. 5 (2004) 231-242]. Another is that a maximal point in a feebly compact space is not a regular point. This generalizes results of both Carlson [N. Carlson, Lower upper topologies in the Hausdorff partial order on a fixed set, Topology Appl. 154 (2007) 619-624] and Costantini [C. Costantini, On some questions about posets of topologies on a fixed set, Topology Proc. 32 (2008) 187-225].     

Locally compact spaces of countable core and Alexandroff compactification

We introduce a new cardinal invariant, core of a space, defined for any locally compact Hausdorff space X and denoted by cor(X). Locally compact spaces of countable core generalize locally compact σ-compact spaces in a way that is slightly exotic, but still quite natural. We show in Section 1 that under a broad range of conditions locally compact spaces of countable core must be σ-compact. In particular, normal locally compact spaces of countable core and realcompact locally compact spaces of countable core are σ-compact. Perfect mappings preserve the class of spaces of countable core in both directions (Section 2). The Alexandroff compactification aX is weakly first countable at the Alexandroff point a if and only if cor(X)=ω (Section 3). Two examples of non-σ-compact locally compact spaces of countable core are discussed in Section 3. We also extend the well-known theorem of Alexandroff and Urysohn on the cardinality of perfectly normal compacta to compacta satisfying a weak version of perfect normality. Several open problems are formulated.     

Local connectedness and extension of uniformly continuous functions

A metric space X is straight if for each finite cover of X by closed sets, and for each real valued function f on X, if f is uniformly continuous on each set of the cover, then f is uniformly continuous on the whole of X. The straight spaces have been studied in [A. Berarducci, D. Dikranjan, J. Pelant, An additivity theorem for uniformly continuous functions, Topology and its Applications 146-147 (2005) 339-352], which contains characterization of the straight spaces within the class of the locally connected spaces (they are the uniformly locally connected ones) and the class of the totally disconnected spaces (they coincide with the totally disconnected Atsuji spaces). We show that the completion of a straight space is straight and we characterize the dense straight subspaces of a straight space. In order to clarify further the relation between straightness and the level of local connectedness of the space we introduce two more intermediate properties between straightness and uniform local connectedness and we give various examples to distinguish them. One of these properties coincides with straightness for complete spaces and provides in this way a useful characterization of complete straight spaces in terms of the behaviour of the quasi-components of the space.     

An explosion point space without the fixed point property

In 1988 A. Gutek proved that there exist one-point connectifications of hereditarily disconnected spaces that do not have the fixed point property. We improve on this result by constructing a one-point connectification of a totally disconnected space without the fixed point property.     

The Kakutani fixed point theorem for Roberts spaces

Roberts spaces were the first examples of compact convex subsets of Hausdorff topological vector spaces (HTVS) where the Krein–Milman theorem fails. Because of this exotic quality they were candidates for a counterexample to Schauder's conjecture: any compact convex subset of a HTVS has the fixed point property. However, extending the notion of admissible subsets in HTVS of Klee [Math. Ann. 141 (1960) 286–296], Ngu [Topology Appl. 68 (1996) 1–12] showed the fixed point property for a class of spaces, including the Roberts spaces, he called weakly admissible spaces. We prove the Kakutani fixed point theorem for this class and apply it to show the non-linear alternative for weakly admissible spaces.     

Distortion and stability of the fixed point property for non-expansive mappings

Let X be a Banach space. We say that X satisfies the fixed point property (weak fixed point property) if every non-expansive mapping defined from a convex closed bounded (convex weakly compact) subset of X into itself has a fixed point. We say that X satisfies the stable fixed point property (stable weak fixed point property) if the same is true for every equivalent norm which is close enough to the original one. Denote by P(X) the set formed by all equivalent norms with the topology of the uniform convergence on the unit ball of X. We prove that the subset of P(X) formed by the norms failing the fixed point property is dense in P(X) when X is a non-distortable space which fails the fixed point property. In particular, no renorming of ?₁ can satisfy the stable fixed point property. Furthermore, we show some examples of distortable spaces failing the weak fixed point property, which can be renormed to satisfy the stable weak fixed point property. As a consequence we prove that every separable Banach space can be renormed to satisfy the stable weak fixed point property.     

Characterizations of intervals via continuous selections

We prove that: (i) a pathwise connected, Hausdorff space which has a continuous selection is homeomorphic to one of the following four spaces: singleton, [0,1), [0,1] or the long lineL, (ii) a locally connected (Hausdorff) space which has a continuous selection must be orderable, and (iii) an infinite connected, Hausdorff space has exactly two continuous selections if and only if it is compact and orderable. We use these results to give various characterizations of intervals via continuous selections. For instance, (iv) a topological spaceX is homeomorphic to [0,1] if (and only if)X is infinite, separable, connected, Hausdorff space and has exactly two continuous selections, and (v) a topological spaceX is homeomorphic to [0,1) if (and only if) one of the following equivalent conditions holds: (a)X is infinite, Hausdorff, separable, pathwise connected and has exactly one continuous selection; (b)X is infinite, separable, locally connected and has exactly one continuous selection; (c)X is infinite, metric, locally connected and has exactly one continuous selection. Three examples are exhibited which demonstrate the necessity of various assumptions in our results.     

Mappings onto metric spaces

We give characterizations of perfect images and open and compact images of spaces that can be mapped onto metrizable spaces by a mapping with fibers having a given property $\text{P}$. We use these characterizations to obtain conditions which imply that such images can be mapped onto a metric space by a mapping with fibers satisfying $\text{P}$. Such a treatment includes the investigation of spaces with a weaker metric topology [2, Ch. 5].     

A glance at spaces with closure-preserving local bases

Call a space X (weakly) Japanese at a pointx∈X if X has a closure-preserving local base (or quasi-base respectively) at the point x. The space X is (weakly) Japanese if it is (weakly) Japanese at every x∈X. We prove, in particular, that any generalized ordered space is Japanese and that the property of being (weakly) Japanese is preserved by σ-products; besides, a dyadic compact space is weakly Japanese if and only if it is metrizable. It turns out that every scattered Corson compact space is Japanese while there exist even Eberlein compact spaces which are not weakly Japanese. We show that a continuous image of a compact first countable space can fail to be weakly Japanese so the (weak) Japanese property is not preserved by perfect maps. Another interesting property of Japanese spaces is their tightness-monolithity, i.e., in every weakly Japanese space X we have for any set A⊂X.     

Bead spaces and fixed point theorems

The notion of a bead metric space defined here (see Definition 6) is a nice generalization of that of the uniformly convex normed space. In turn, the idea of a central point for a mapping when combined with the “single central point” property of the bead spaces enables us to obtain strong and elegant extensions of the Browder-Göhde-Kirk fixed point theorem for nonexpansive mappings (see Theorems 14-17). Their proofs are based on a very simple reasoning. We also prove two theorems on continuous selections for metric and Hilbert spaces. They are followed by fixed point theorems of Schauder type. In the final part we obtain a result on nonempty intersection.     

A note on monotonically metacompact spaces

We show that any metacompact Moore space is monotonically metacompact and use that result to characterize monotone metacompactness in certain generalized ordered (GO) spaces. We show, for example, that a generalized ordered space with a σ-closed-discrete dense subset is metrizable if and only if it is monotonically (countably) metacompact, that a monotonically (countably) metacompact GO-space is hereditarily paracompact, and that a locally countably compact GO-space is metrizable if and only if it is monotonically (countably) metacompact. We give an example of a non-metrizable LOTS that is monotonically metacompact, thereby answering a question posed by S.G. Popvassilev. We also give consistent examples showing that if there is a Souslin line, then there is one Souslin line that is monotonically countable metacompact, and another Souslin line that is not monotonically countably metacompact.     

Local sections of Serre fibrations with 3-manifold fibers

It was proved by H. Whitney in 1933 that a Serre fibration of compact metric spaces admits a global section provided every fiber is homeomorphic to the unit interval [0,1]. An extension of the Whitney's theorem to the case when all fibers are homeomorphic to some fixed compact two-dimensional manifold was proved by the authors (Brodsky et al. (2008) [2]). The main result of this paper proves the existence of local sections in a Serre fibration with all fibers homeomorphic to some fixed compact three-dimensional manifold.     

Monotone versions of δ-normality

According to Mack a space is countably paracompact if and only if its product with [0,1] is δ-normal, i.e. any two disjoint closed sets, one of which is a regular Gδ-set, can be separated. In studying monotone versions of countable paracompactness, one is naturally led to consider various monotone versions of δ-normality. Such properties are the subject of this paper. We look at how these properties relate to each other and prove a number of results about them, in particular, we provide a factorization of monotone normality in terms of monotone δ-normality and a weak property that holds in monotonically normal spaces and in first countable Tychonoff spaces. We also discuss the productivity of these properties with a compact metrizable space.     

More on remainders close to metrizable spaces

This article is a natural continuation of [A.V. Arhangel'skii, Remainders in compactifications and generalized metrizability properties, Topology Appl. 150 (2005) 79-90]. As in [A.V. Arhangel'skii, Remainders in compactifications and generalized metrizability properties, Topology Appl. 150 (2005) 79-90], we consider the following general question: when does a Tychonoff space X have a Hausdorff compactification with a remainder belonging to a given class of spaces? A famous classical result in this direction is the well known theorem of M. Henriksen and J. Isbell [M. Henriksen, J.R. Isbell, Some properties of compactifications, Duke Math. J. 25 (1958) 83-106].It is shown that if a non-locally compact topological group G has a compactification bG such that the remainder Y=bG?G has a Gδ-diagonal, then both G and Y are separable and metrizable spaces (Theorem 5). Several corollaries are derived from this result, in particular, this one: If a compact Hausdorff space X is first countable at least at one point, and X can be represented as the union of two complementary dense subspaces Y and Z, each of which is homeomorphic to a topological group (not necessarily the same), then X is separable and metrizable (Theorem 12). It is observed that Theorem 5 does not extend to arbitrary paratopological groups. We also establish that if a topological group G has a remainder with a point-countable base, then either G is locally compact, or G is separable and metrizable.     

The fixed point property via dual space properties

A Banach space has the weak fixed point property if its dual space has a weak^∗ sequentially compact unit ball and the dual space satisfies the weak^∗ uniform Kadec-Klee property; and it has the fixed point property if there exists ε>0 such that, for every infinite subset A of the unit sphere of the dual space, A∪(−A) fails to be (2−ε)-separated. In particular, E-convex Banach spaces, a class of spaces that includes the uniformly nonsquare spaces, have the fixed point property.     

Edelstein-Suzuki-type fixed point results in metric and abstract metric spaces

Generalizations of the Edelstein-Suzuki theorem [T. Suzuki, A new type of fixed point theorem in metric spaces, Nonlinear Anal. TMA 71 (2009), 5313-5317], including versions of the Kannan, Chatterjea and Hardy-Rogers-type fixed point results for compact metric spaces, are proved. Also, abstract metric versions of these results are obtained. Examples are presented to distinguish our results from the existing ones.     

Compact Hausdorff fuzzy topological spaces are topological

Many examples of compact fuzzy topological spaces which are highly non topological are known [5, 6]. Equally many examples of Hausdorff fuzzy topological spaces which are highly non topological can be given. In this paper we show that the two properties - compact and Hausdorff - combined however necessarily imply that the fuzzy topological space is topological. This at once solves some open questions with regard to the compactification of fuzzy topological spaces [8]. It also emphasizes once more the particular role played by compact Hausdorff topological spaces not only in the category of topological spaces but even in the category of fuzzy topological spaces.     

Compact spaces generated by retractions

We study compact spaces which are obtained from metric compacta by iterating the operation of inverse limit of continuous sequences of retractions. This class, denoted by R, has been introduced in [M. Burke, W. Kubi?, S. Todor?evi?, Kadec norms on spaces of continuous functions, http://arxiv.org/abs/math.FA/0312013]. Allowing continuous images in the definition of class R, one obtains a strictly larger class, which we denote by RC. We show that every space in class RC is either Corson compact or else contains a copy of the ordinal segment ω₁+1. This improves a result of Kalenda from [O. Kalenda, Embedding of the ordinal segment [0,ω₁] into continuous images of Valdivia compacta, Comment. Math. Univ. Carolin. 40 (4) (1999) 777-783], where the same was proved for the class of continuous images of Valdivia compacta. We prove that spaces in class R do not contain cutting P-points (see the definition below), which provides a tool for finding spaces in RC?R. Finally, we study linearly ordered spaces in class RC. We prove that scattered linearly ordered compacta belong to RC and we characterize those ones which belong to R. We show that there are only 5 types (up to order isomorphism) of connected linearly ordered spaces in class R and all of them are Valdivia compact. Finally, we find a universal pre-image for the class of all linearly ordered Valdivia compacta.     

On one-point connectifications

In the first part of this note we explore the relationship between connectibility and cohesiveness, including showing that the concepts do not coincide in the class of totally disconnected spaces. We introduce the concept of strong cohesion which fits between cohesion and connectibility. Several examples demonstrate the sharpness of the obtained results. In the second part of this note we investigate when certain one-point connectifications have the fixed point property. In particular, we prove this property for the canonical one-point connectification of Erd?s space. This result was claimed earlier in the literature but was withdrawn recently.     

On the fundamental groups of one-dimensional spaces

We study here a number of questions raised by examining the fundamental groups of complicated one-dimensional spaces. The first half of the paper considers one-dimensional spaces as such. The second half proves related results for general spaces that are needed in the first half but have independent interest. Among the results we prove are the theorem that the fundamental group of a separable, connected, locally path connected, one-dimensional metric space is free if and only if it is countable if and only if the space has a universal cover and the theorem that the fundamental group of a compact, one-dimensional, connected metric space embeds in an inverse limit of finitely generated free groups and is shape injective.