On topological spaces of singular density and minimal weight

We introduce a weakening of the generalized continuum hypothesis, which we will refer to as the prevalent singular cardinals hypothesis, and show it implies that every topological space of density and weight ℵω₁ is not hereditarily Lindelöf.The assumption PSH is very weak, and in fact holds in all currently known models of ZFC.     

Subcompactness and domain representability in GO-spaces on sets of real numbers

In this paper we explore a family of strong completeness properties in GO-spaces defined on sets of real numbers with the usual linear ordering. We show that if τ is any GO-topology on the real line R, then (R,τ) is subcompact, and so is any Gδ-subspace of (R,τ). We also show that if (X,τ) is a subcompact GO-space constructed on a subset X⊆R, then X is a Gδ-subset of any space (R,σ) where σ is any GO-topology on R with τ=σX_|. It follows that, for GO-spaces constructed on sets of real numbers, subcompactness is hereditary to Gδ-subsets. In addition, it follows that if (X,τ) is a subcompact GO-space constructed on any set of real numbers and if τS is the topology obtained from τ by isolating all points of a set S⊆X, then (X,τS) is also subcompact. Whether these two assertions hold for arbitrary subcompact spaces is not known.We use our results on subcompactness to begin the study of other strong completeness properties in GO-spaces constructed on subsets of R. For example, examples show that there are subcompact GO-spaces constructed on subsets X⊆R where X is not a Gδ-subset of the usual real line. However, if (X,τ) is a dense-in-itself GO-space constructed on some X⊆R and if (X,τ) is subcompact (or more generally domain-representable), then (X,τ) contains a dense subspace Y that is a Gδ-subspace of the usual real line. It follows that (Y,τY_|) is a dense subcompact subspace of (X,τ). Furthermore, for a dense-in-itself GO-space constructed on a set of real numbers, the existence of such a dense subspace Y of X is equivalent to pseudo-completeness of (X,τ) (in the sense of Oxtoby). These results eliminate many pathological sets of real numbers as potential counterexamples to the still-open question: “Is there a domain-representable GO-space constructed on a subset of R that is not subcompact”? Finally, we use our subcompactness results to show that any co-compact GO-space constructed on a subset of R must be subcompact.     

Resolvability properties via independent families

The authors give a consistent affirmative response to a question of Juhász, Soukup and Szentmiklóssy: If GCH fails, there are (many) extraresolvable, not maximally resolvable Tychonoff spaces. They show also in ZFC that for ω<λ?κ, no maximal λ-independent family of λ-partitions of κ is ω-resolvable. In topological language, that theorem translates to this: A dense, ω-resolvable subset of a space of the form (DI(λ)) is λ-resolvable.     

Tychonoff expansions with prescribed resolvability properties

The recent literature offers examples, specific and hand-crafted, of Tychonoff spaces (in ZFC) which respond negatively to these questions, due respectively to Ceder and Pearson (1967) [3] and to Comfort and García-Ferreira (2001) [5]: (1) Is every ω-resolvable space maximally resolvable? (2) Is every maximally resolvable space extraresolvable? Now using the method of KID expansion, the authors show that every suitably restricted Tychonoff topological space (X,T) admits a larger Tychonoff topology (that is, an “expansion”) witnessing such failure. Specifically the authors show in ZFC that if (X,T) is a maximally resolvable Tychonoff space with S(X,T)?Δ(X,T)=κ, then (X,T) has Tychonoff expansions U=Ui (1?i?5), with Δ(X,Ui)=Δ(X,T) and S(X,Ui)?Δ(X,Ui), such that (X,Ui) is: (i=1) ω-resolvable but not maximally resolvable; (i=2) [if κ^′ is regular, with S(X,T)?κ^′?κ] τ-resolvable for all τ<κ^′, but not κ^′-resolvable; (i=3) maximally resolvable, but not extraresolvable; (i=4) extraresolvable, but not maximally resolvable; (i=5) maximally resolvable and extraresolvable, but not strongly extraresolvable.     

The β-space property in monotonically normal spaces and GO-spaces

In this paper we examine the role of the β-space property (equivalently of the MCM-property) in generalized ordered (GO-)spaces and, more generally, in monotonically normal spaces. We show that a GO-space is metrizable iff it is a β-space with a Gδ-diagonal and iff it is a quasi-developable β-space. That last assertion is a corollary of a general theorem that any β-space with a σ-point-finite base must be developable. We use a theorem of Balogh and Rudin to show that any monotonically normal space that is hereditarily monotonically countably metacompact (equivalently, hereditarily a β-space) must be hereditarily paracompact, and that any generalized ordered space that is perfect and hereditarily a β-space must be metrizable. We include an appendix on non-Archimedean spaces in which we prove various results announced without proof by Nyikos.     

Covering by discrete and closed discrete sets

Say that a cardinal number κ is small relative to the space X if κ<Δ(X), where Δ(X) is the least cardinality of a non-empty open set in X. We prove that no Baire metric space can be covered by a small number of discrete sets, and give some generalizations. We show a ZFC example of a regular Baire σ-space and a consistent example of a normal Baire Moore space which can be covered by a small number of discrete sets. We finish with some remarks on linearly ordered spaces.     

Solution of Shapirovskii's question

Boris Shapirovskii posed the following question: “Suppose a continuous mapping from one compact space onto another is given. Suppose that the π-character of any point in the domain is greater than the weight of the target space. Will there be two disjoint closed sets in the domain mapping onto?”. There is a zero-dimensional counterexample (Corollary 12), but the one cardinal up version is true in zero-dimensional case (Corollary 14). Nevertheless, there always will be two disjoint open sets mapping densely (Theorem 7).     

Lexicographically ordered trees

We characterize trees whose lexicographic ordering produces an order isomorphic copy of some sets of real numbers, or an order isomorphic copy of some set of ordinal numbers. We characterize trees whose lexicographic ordering is order complete, and we investigate lexicographically ordered ω-splitting trees that, under the open-interval topology of their lexicographic orders, are of the first Baire category. Finally we collect together some folklore results about the relation between Aronszajn trees and Aronszajn lines, and use earlier results of the paper to deduce some topological properties of Aronszajn lines.     

A classification of CO spaces which are continuous images of compact ordered spaces

A topological space X is called a CO space, if every closed subset of X is homeomorphic to some clopen subset of X. Every ordinal with its order topology is a CO space. This work gives a complete classification of CO spaces which are continuous images of compact ordered spaces.     

Thin-type dense sets and related properties

We build on Gruenhage, Natkaniec, and Piotrowski?s study of thin, very thin, and slim dense sets in products, and the related notions of (NC) and (GC) which they introduced. We find examples of separable spaces X such that X² has a thin or slim dense set but no countable one. We characterize ordered spaces that satisfy (GC) and (NC), and we give an example of a separable space which satisfies (GC) but not witnessed by a collection of finite sets. We show that the question of when the topological sum of two countable strongly irresolvable spaces satisfies (NC) is related to the Rudin-Keisler order on βω. We also introduce and study the concepts of <κ-thin and superslim dense sets.     

A new bound on the cardinality of homogeneous compacta

We show (in ZFC) that if X is a compact homogeneous Hausdorff space then |X|?²t(X), where t(X) denotes the tightness of X. It follows that under GCH the character and the tightness of such a space coincide.     

Amorphe Potenzen kompakter Räume

A set is amorphous, if it is not a union of two disjoint infinite subsets. The following variants of the Tychonoff product theorem are investigated in the hierarchy of weak choice principles. TA1: An amorphous power of a compactT ₂ space is compact. TA2: An amorphous power of a compactT ₂ space which as a set is wellorderable is compact. In ZF⁰TA1 is equivalent to the assertion, that amorphous sets are finite. RT is Ramsey's theorem, that every finite colouring of the set ofn-element subsets of an infinite set has an infinite homogeneous subset and PW is Rubin's axiom, that the power set of an ordinal is wellorderable. In ZF⁰RT+PW implies TA2. Since RT+PW is compatible with the existence of infinite amorphous sets, TA2 does not imply TA1 in ZF⁰. But TA2 cannot be proved in ZF⁰ alone. As an application, we prove a theorem of Stone, using a weak wellordering axiomD ₃ (a set is wellorderable, if each of its infinite subsets is structured) together with RT.

Diese Arbeit ist Teil der Habilitationsschrift des Verfassers im Fachgebiet Mathematische Analysis an der Technischen Universität Wien.     

Brush spaces and the fixed point property

We introduce the notions of a brush space and a weak brush space. Each of these spaces has a compact connected core with attached connected fibers and may be either compact or non-compact. Many spaces, both in the Hausdorff non-metrizable setting and in the metric setting, have realizations as (weak) brush spaces. We show that these spaces have the fixed point property if and only if subspaces with core and finitely many fibers have the fixed point property. This result generalizes the fixed point result for generalized Alexandroff/Urysohn Squares in Hagopian and Marsh (2010) [4]. We also look at some familiar examples, with and without the fixed point property, from Bing (1969) [1], Connell (1959) [3], Knill (1967) [7] and note the brush space structures related to these examples.     

First countability, tightness, and other cardinal invariants in remainders of topological groups

We consider the following natural questions: when a topological group G has a first countable remainder, when G has a remainder of countable tightness? This leads to some further questions on the properties of remainders of topological groups. Let G be a topological group. The following facts are established. 1. If Gω has a first countable remainder, then either G is metrizable, or G is locally compact. 2. If G has a countable network and a first countable remainder, then either G is separable and metrizable, or G is σ-compact. 3. Under (MA+¬CH) every topological group with a countable network and a first countable remainder is separable and metrizable. Some new open problems are formulated.     

On thin, very thin, and slim dense sets

The notions of thin and very thin dense subsets of a product space were introduced by the third author, and in this article we also introduce the notion of a slim dense set in a product. We obtain a number of results concerning the existence and non-existence of these types of small dense sets, and we study the relations among them.     

Resolvability vs. almost resolvability

A space X is κ-resolvable (resp. almost κ-resolvable) if it contains κ dense sets that are pairwise disjoint (resp. almost disjoint over the ideal of nowhere dense subsets of X).Answering a problem raised by Juhász, Soukup, and Szentmiklóssy, and improving a consistency result of Comfort and Hu, we prove, in ZFC, that for every infinite cardinal κ there is an almost κ²-resolvable but not ω₁-resolvable space of dispersion character κ.     

On dimensional properties of the generalized Smirnov's spaces

We show that the transfinite inductive dimensions modulo PP-trind and P-trInd introduced in M.G. Charalambous (1997) [2] differ by simple spaces, where P is the absolutely additive Borel class A(α) or the absolutely multiplicative Borel class M(α), 0?α<ω₁.     

Scattered subsets of\mathbb{Q}

A linear order isscattered if it contains no copy of the rationals. The scattered subsets of form a better quasi-order under embeddability via order automorphisms.Research supported by NSERC grant #9848.     

Universally meager sets, II

We present new characterizations of universally meager sets, shown in [P. Zakrzewski, Universally meager sets, Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 129 (6) (2001) 1793-1798] to be a category analog of universally null sets. In particular, we address the question of how this class is related to another class of universally meager sets, recently introduced by Todorcevic [S. Todorcevic, Universally meager sets and principles of generic continuity and selection in Banach spaces, Adv. Math. 208 (2007) 274-298].     

Preservation of the Borel class under countable-compact-covering mappings

The aim of this note is to prove the following result: “Assume that X is a metric Borel space of class ξ, that is continuous, that every fiber f⁻¹(y) is complete and that every countable compact subset of Y is the image by f of some compact subset of X. Then Y is Borel and moreover of class ξ”. We give also an extension to the case where the fibers are only assumed to be Polish.