On the connectedness of the set of weakly efficient points of a vector optimization problem in locally convex spaces

In vector optimization, topological properties of the set of efficient and weakly efficient points are of interest. In this paper, we study the connectedness of the setE ^w of all weakly efficient points of a subsetZ of a locally convex spaceX with respect to a continuous mappingp:X Y,Y locally convex and partially ordered by a closed, convex cone with nonempty interior. Under the general assumptions thatZ is convex and closed and thatp is a pointwise quasiconvex mapping (i.e., a generalized quasiconvex concept), the setE ^w is connected, if the lower level sets ofp are compact. Furthermore, we show some connectedness results on the efficient points and the efficient and weakly efficient outcomes. The considerations of this paper extend the previous results of Refs. 1–3. Moreover, some examples in vector approximation are given.The author is grateful to Dr. D. T. Luc and to a referee for pointing out an error in an earlier version of this paper.